Under the Scarlet Moon
by Aki-Shinko
Summary: Anju Akira was told that the day she was to meet her future husband would be one she'd never forget. After her chores she would never be the same. Who knew, that her mother would be right and she would lose everyone she loved, and try to love a stranger a
1. Meeting

Disclaimer:  
  
Yeah I own nothing. This is my first Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fic. This story is fictional and does not follow the Rurouni Kenshin story lines like the TV Show or anything. This is about the god of Rurouni Kenshin Lord Aoshi! ((Applause and Whoops)) and his first love Anju. I hope you enjoy! (  
  
Introduction  
  
The night, I remember that night sky. There was only darkness; it was like the pits of hell. I dismissed the idea that there was a storm; the sky was dense with smoke. I rode on the back of a black stallion praying that I could see the sun shine once more. I mark that night as one that I shall never forget; the night my youth was stricken from me, and the world, as I knew it expired.  
  
My mother told me, that our experience in this world, our very lives and existence, are planned out for us. Fate and destiny often intertwined themselves. She told me, everything happened for a reason, and that a reason was not always needed to explain the event either.  
  
I wonder if that fire.... had a reason.  
  
Chapter 1 Meeting  
  
That day, my mother said, was going to be the best day in my life. After the morning chores I would never be the same girl again. I paid no mind to her, and gallivanted the rice fields whistling as I went, blissfully unaware of what awaited for me with the next new sun.  
  
Kip, my dog, walked at my feet waiting in a thirstily manner, hoping that I may drop a few rice crumbs from him to lick up from the soft copious ground at my feet, and of course I always did. My mother would scold me, saying it was unorthodox for a dog to live in such a lap of luxury, as we were the people who worked in the fields, yet a mongrel like Kip could eat like a sire. I only laughed clean-handedly and continued with chores. I loved the rice fields for it seemed I could be swallowed up, engulfed by the tall stalks around me, melting away, so I no longer had to be seen.  
  
My father, Namura-san, now believed I had "come to age" and it was time for him to find me a better half. He had introduced me with many of our village boys, but none gave me concern. All the boys were unformed, uneducated, or just not to my liking. Namura-san believed I should marry the rich, so he could rest his old bones. I believed, that I needed to flee this forceful match making and find my own warm-heartedness.  
  
When the sun hit its acme, I was rushed to the springs where my mother and grandmother Meiko pampered me trying to prepare me so I was what did they call me, ahh yes "presentable". They laved my until my skin felt like silk, and scrubbed at my hair until it shone like the stars in the sky.  
  
Meiko gave me one of her favorite kimonos; it was the same kimono she wore when she met my grandfather. Her garbing allowed me to be transformed. When I presented myself to Namura, he could only smile and bow politely, too proud a man to show his tears of satisfaction. He cuffed my cheek and told me that I was more beautiful then the sakura flower itself. Namura laughed and said, any samurai that turned you away, was blinded by his thirst for blood and could not see the angel that stood before them. I could only try to confine my blushing.  
  
As we promenaded the streets, many of the young men turned their heads to gaze upon me. I had never felt more like a specimen of a scientist; it felt like I wasn't a person, but a possession that all the men wanted. My mother had always told me, of women who sold themselves money, she told me, she would rather die and the knees of the American soldiers then ever sell herself.  
  
A few of the young men even sang and whooped at me, speaking slang Japanese saying I was an easy target for dishonoring, I was too young and innocent to resist the arms of a strong man. I scowled at them and shouted back that they would perish stonyhearted ill minded virgins who would die begging for even the smallest chips of food. They instantly clamed themselves, unaware that a girl myself was educated. Gratefully, I came from a family where my father believed I should be a literate, and that I am.  
  
Finally we arrived at the next candidate's house. He lived in a fairly large home, roomy and spacious. He had much livestock and fields, which impressed my father besides being a government official. Namura was and always would be a strong salesman, always wanting profit so his children would not struggle like he once did.  
  
At first, I hid behind my mother and Meiko, but they eagerly pushed me to the front and gestured I should knock on the door. I brought up the knocker and gave two gentle knocks; a few moments later a servant opened the door. That servant looked no older than I, and her eyes screamed pain; in the back of my mind I wondered if she had been dishonored.  
  
The servant could see I was searching her soul through her eyes. As she brought us to the hall, she squeezed my hand and whispered to me so no one else could hear. She said, the young master was not the one who dishonored her, but the father, he was a senile man. She said, that I should love the young master and need not worry of the father. She told me, the father had many women, and I was safe. The father beckoned for the servant and she disappeared quickly.  
  
I sat down on the couch as the father had instructed me to do so. Namura and this man shook hands and spoke of business for moments, and the mother spoke to Meiko and Mama about the fabrics embedded within my kimono. I was left alone, within my only little domain on the couch, and I just quietly sipped at my green tea.  
  
After the two families had caught up with the idol chitchat, the father introduced himself to me. He told me his name was Ginta Matsurra, but I should only call him Ginta or Sensei depending upon the conversation we were in. The mother introduced herself as Yuma. Yuma seemed pleasant; her eyes radiated much happiness and joy. She seemed to be at self-peace. Ginta, seemed a little stern, his face worn from the many business encounters he had.  
  
They spoke to me about my education. They found it very enlightening that a young girl like myself had knowledge. They asked me what I knew. I told them I knew mathematics, literature, but by far my caliber was in biology. The couple told me that their son would be well fitted with a girl who had a good head on her shoulders.  
  
After more babble of preparation and higher achy Ginta clapped his hands calling in the servant girl. He told the servant girl to fetch the boy, or I should say my soon to be finance.  
  
Meiko and Mother sat impatiently, excited to see the boy. My father sat calmly. I sat staring at my hands that were folded in my lap. Father seemed positive that this would be the proper man for me, and it looked like no amount of negotiation could get me out of this one.  
  
The father spoke calling to his son. He stood up and placed his hand around his boy who was blushing.  
  
"This is my son, Shinamori Aoshi. Aoshi son, meet your future bride..."  
  
I looked up and for the first time really gazed at Aoshi. He seemed to be, maybe a year advanced than I was. He was dressed formally, in black pants and turtleneck, over the turtleneck was an off-brown jacket with red borders. Aoshi's hair was an untamed black that's length fell just a little past his eyes tied up with a bandana with our nations flag painted on it. His eyes, his eyes were a deep green and they seemed to illuminate the whole room. He stared at me, for a long time he stared at me, and I drifted my eyes away.  
  
He smiled and he walked over to me. He knelt down on one knee; I then realized how tall he seemed. He took my hand gently from my lap and shook it gently.  
  
"It is a pleasure to meet you." I tilted my head back towards him and forced myself to let out a smile. I bowed to him mildly.  
  
"The pleasure is mine. It is indeed an honor to meet a young sire." For a moment, his eyes seemed to distress and he shook his head slightly. Both our parents agreed it was time to let us two get acquainted, so Aoshi took me to the garden, taking my hand and leading the way.  
  
From behind I scoffed at him, him leading the way like I was an infant. Although I honestly did not know where I was going, I could still walk beside him instead of behind him. Man always put themselves higher then women. He was not proving to be so admirable. But the night was young.  
  
He seated me on a garden bench and he sat down beside me. For a while he stared at the stars, as if trying to see beyond them, like a whole other world laid father away.  
  
"The stars, you remind me of the stars" He said quietly, his eyes still fixed on the brilliant fall sky.  
  
"How so?" I asked him softly,  
  
"You glow with pride and honor. You have such self-assurance in yourself you seem to fear nothing. The stars, they shine like that as well. They shine so bright, and they keep shining bright until the very last moments of their existence. Your black hair is like the sky itself, velvety and alluring. Your eyes, are like the moon, large and filled with many mysteries." He picks at a flower growing on a stake. "It is said, that the eyes are the gateways to our very souls. But why is it, when I look into yours, I only see my own reflection?" Aoshi turned taking the flower and cuffing it under a tuft of my hair smiling.  
  
"You see your own reflection, for my soul is that, it reflects others. I am not my own being, for I hold endearment to many people. In my eyes, you see my father. In my eyes you see Grandmother Meiko, Grandfather Karachi, my dog Kip, and my brother Tai."  
  
"So do you not love yourself then? Why else are you not in your eyes?"  
  
"You cannot love someone you do not know yes? I may be blossoming to womanhood, now 17, but that does not mean I fully know who I am. You could say I am a businessman's daughter. You could say I am a mere schoolgirl or rich collector. I am indeed those things, but there is so much more to me than that."  
  
"Then tell me who you are"  
  
"That is the uncertainty of life. As you start one life you search for yourself, and when that lifetime is over, and you begin your second, you live your second life. First you search, then you live."  
  
Aoshi nodded "I see. You are indeed a smart one, I never thought of life that way. I understand if you do not know yourself. I now doubt if I know myself like I think I do"  
  
I take his hand shaking my head "No, do not doubt yourself. Only you can know you the best. I am, how do you say, different. I am not one who easily follows the path that others have ridden. If you know who you are, that is good, very good, but there is always more time to explore. You just know more about yourself then I do."  
  
"So you say that I know a lot about myself, more than you do. So that is good, but in life we are always still searching to learn more?"  
  
I smiled and nodded quickly "Yes, that is it exactly!"  
  
He laughed and brushed my cheek. "You are indeed a gem. Your parents must be so proud"  
  
I laughed "Ah yeas, how they love to show me off and gallivant the town like I am one's possession and not a being. It is like I am a china doll forever on display in the local market shelves."  
  
Aoshi frowned "It is not all that bad is it?"  
  
I shook my head once more "Of course not. I love my family more then the sun and stars, and nothing will ever change that. They love me as well, but sometimes I wish, that I did not live in this style or tone. I seek, more independence and freedom, but am forever bound to serve a man."  
  
He frowned once more "If we are to wed, do know that I do not wish for you to serve me. I want you to love me, for the very man I am, and the very man I am becoming. No riches in the world compare to the devotion one gives to the other half if they're truly bound. Do you understand that?"  
  
I nodded my head slowly, finding my fingers rested on the seika flower he had given me.  
  
"Indeed I do. We seem to have the same understanding."  
  
Aoshi looked at the pound as the moon reflected itself onto the water  
  
"I am unsettled in a sort. Forceful marriage picked out by parents does not seem just. Love isn't determined by bloodline or heritage, neither the amount of money in the bank either. I was dysphonic." He looked to me taking both my hands "It is not you who I dislike, do cognize that. I think the idea is barbaric, but when I saw you, it seemed like it didn't matter."  
  
I looked down at our hands blushing. I did not meet his gaze. For a while it became clear, that even if we did not endear the other, we would still be forced to marry. It was so odd. I had known this from the start, but now it just seemed to finally be sinking in. This was the man I would be with for the rest of my life.  
  
"Aoshi?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Our parents have arranged this marriage, and though we both disapprove, is there a chance, that we could ever love each other?"  
  
He was silent for a moment, although it had appeared like it was an eternity. He then kissed my forehead with a hint of passion and looked into my eyes.  
  
"With all do time, I think there are chances for everyone. But, when we meet again, I do not wish to be this formal. I want to be, more myself, as they say. I feel so uptight, and I want to relax. It will be easier, with our parents not around." His grin was so warm and docile. I could only nod again. Shinamori then, took me into his arms burying his face against my neck. My eyes widened in shock, for I felt him shaking, like he was, crying. "I'm sorry, I am just, perplexed. Everything about our marriage seems so wrong and yet you are so beautiful and ravishing. I do not know, if I am capable of living up to the man that you want your husband to be."  
  
My eyes only widened more listening to his words, never once had someone cared about what I thought or felt. My emotions were never factors in decisions my parents made. My hands slowly rapped themselves around his back and one crept its way up to his hair were I played with it softly trying to coo him like a child. For moments, he calmed still stifling his tears.  
  
"Aoshi, although this night is nearly done, and we have only just met, you have proved yourself to me time and time again. Never once has any man, or any person in general had ever considered my feelings. You genuinely care, and that is already so much more then I deserve. Do not worry; I just hope I can prove myself to you. Our engagement is short lived, we only have a moon's full cycle till our special day, but I want to know you for the man that you are. I want to know what's inside"  
  
He lifts his head up, still tear logged, but with a sense of confusion.  
  
"What is on the inside?"  
  
"Yes" I rested my head on his chest listening to his heartbeat. "I want to know, what makes this heart of your beat. What makes you tick? I want to know what you feel, and not what your father forces you to feel."  
  
I could feel Aoshi's hands slide down my shoulder blades and rest near my waist as he held me close. He rested his head atop of mine and I could feel him smiling. At this moment, we finally seemed at ease. The two of us, who barely knew the other, were truly at an understanding of each other, as it we'd known the other all our lives.  
  
Our moment was cut short by the sound of shrieks and screams. We jerked our heads up looking back over to Aoshi's estate.  
  
"Aoshi what's going on?"  
  
We stood up quickly and ran over the mansion. From the courtyard, we could see flames were engulfing the house.  
  
"Mother? Father? Meiko?" We both ran inside screaming helplessly for our parents. We saw the servants running around disoriented shrieking with terror.  
  
We heard one scream, "It is the Imperialist Samurais! They've come to shut down the government! Nowhere is safe anymore! Run and flea!" and then the servant fell dead as a sword appeared through her chest and a fountain of blood sprayed the floor. That had been the servant girl who had spoken to me before. For a moment, I stared at her bloodied body, and felt myself fill with such sorrow. I wanted to scream and yell for my mother.  
  
We looked up to see a samurai standing before us.  
  
His red hair waved with the wind and he seemed to glow with the pits of hell wrapping around him with the fire's flames. On his left cheek was a cross-shaped scar and behind him, we saw the corpses of our parents.  
  
"You monster!" Aoshi screamed standing before this samurai. "Tell us your name you man slayer."  
  
He grinned with a fire in his eyes, he was insane I tell you. He seemed to thrive upon the smell of blood and the glory of the fight.  
  
"I am Hitokiri Batosi."  
  
I covered my mouth in fear. I had heard many rumors about this man. This man was said to never lose a fight, and never lose his cool. One swing of his sword could pierce you right in the heart and you would fall instantly dead. He never lost a beat, and never once loved another. It said he had gone mad because he lost his family at a young age. The scar was rumored to be from a couple he had killed early on.  
  
Aoshi prepared himself to fight the Batosi. But I dashed in front of him gasping with panic and fear and held my arms out at my sides.  
  
"You shall not kill this man Batosi. You have already killed your love, it does not mean I must have mine murdered."  
  
I am not sure who was more surprised, Aoshi, or the manslayer. The manslayer stumbled back, as if my words had hit his soul. He only then began to laugh, a small laugh that grew into a maniacal one.  
  
"What could you, a petty businessmen's daughter do?"  
  
I saw a sword hanging over the fireplace and I quickly snatched it from its base and stood in my stance.  
  
"You are oblivious to who I am. I am not just some petty girl. I am Anju Akira. I am the only student under Hiko to master the Hiten Mitserugi Style other then you, Hitokiri Batosi."  
  
The Batosi stood in shock, and then just shook his head.  
  
"Hiko had no other apprentice then I."  
  
"You are older then I. I came to him after you were long gone and began your MANSLAYER Slaughtering! I am his real daughter! I am a lover's child and I came to him. That man and woman on the floor you killed, those two were left to tend to me, they raised me and saved me. They tried to keep me away from the swords, knowing my dormant talents would one day awaken, and then I'd go looking for you and Hiko." The manslayer looked at my parents on the bloodstained floor and watched as the support beams above us slowly fell to the floor still cindering and flaming.  
  
"You are...Hiko's daughter?" He turned to me, still in disbelief  
  
"Yes, I am Hiko's daughter. He denies this fact, because he did not even know I was alive. He had abandoned my mother, and never knew I was actually born. I came to him, with proof; blood tests, birth certificates the works. For a while, I stayed with him, and he agreed to train me. He told me, he had failed as a father, and he could at least be victorious as a sensei.  
  
Batosi. If you even dare lay a hand upon Lord Aoshi. I will kill you myself, and watch slowly as the blood pours from your wounds. Do you wish to die tonight, under the light of the orange scared moon?"  
  
Batosi withdrew his sword, placing it back in its sheath.  
  
"You are indeed a brave one Anju but I must flea. The police are arriving." He disappeared into the shadows but still echoed out calling to us "But know Anju, I will kill you, and I will kill your husband Aoshi as well." Then he was gone, and the room was only filled with the sounds of crackling flames and wood.  
  
More the ceiling collapsed and Aoshi grabbed my hand.  
  
"Anju, this home is no longer safe."  
  
"But...our parents"  
  
'I'm sorry Anju they are long gone. But they would still want us to make it out alive."  
  
With that he scooped me up into his arms and ran out of the estate, just to watch it collapse. He looked away closing his eyes staring at the ground.  
  
"Mother...father...I am, so sorry" he grimaced as he spoke his final words goodbye. I only lay in his arms clutching onto his shirt crying.  
  
He ran us to the stables where he mounted a black horse. He was working silently preparing the horse for our long ride to where ever we were going. He took my hand and helped me up. Suddenly I realized something horrible.  
  
"Aoshi, we have to go back to home?"  
  
"Why we must flea this is imperialist target zones now."  
  
"Tai! We have to find my brother Tai! He is still at my manor"  
  
Aoshi looked at me sternly, but softened seeing the current of tears falling from my eyes. I mounted the horse and we took off. I only prayed that Tai and Kip were safe. I could only fear the worse, and my heart felt heavy. There was no time to morn the loss of my parents, if I could, I would save Tai.  
  
End  
  
Author's Note  
  
Well there is the end of my first fan fiction for Rurouni Kenshin. I hope you all liked it. I'll try to be more descriptive in my next chapter and work on the "showing not telling" thing my sister keeps coaching me about. Anyway, please read and review. Ciao 


	2. Clearing

Disclaimer: Hello again. Here is Chapter 2 to Under the Scarlet Moon. I'm glad you liked my first one, and here's Chapter two just like I promised. Yeah I know I have to say I own nothing, although I wished I owned it all. Enjoy and please R&R  
  
Introduction  
  
I remember, how long that night had seemed. Everything seemed so quiet...too quiet, as if we were an entire audience holding its breath waiting for the final act of a play. The orchestra hits its peaking note, and the audience leans forward on their seats waiting...  
  
The only sound audible was the heaving sound of hooves slamming against the muddied earth below. The horse continued on, carrying two vessels that weren't sure if they were leading themselves to trouble, or if the trouble had drawn them in.  
  
That's what that night felt like, waiting, deep anxiety. The skies were dark and spoke of many horrors that filled the eyes of manslayers. The clouds cried their dusty tears mourning for all those who perished that night. Only the trees paid witness to what went on that night under the scarlet moon...everyone else, just turned away.  
  
Chapter 2 Becoming Clear  
  
After mounting Aoshi's horse we become remotely silent. Aoshi kept his eyes ahead, a stern look upon his face; he concentrated hard, trying to maneuver between the fallen trees and burning flames.  
  
I could only bury my face in the back of his jacket gripping him close and crying. I had never been attacked with so many emotions; anger, vengeance, morn, fear, and it all seemed to hit me at once. I cried softly into his back crying for my father, "Namura.... Namura...."  
  
Aoshi still rode forward but I heard his stern voice call to me. "Anju, I know you are in deep pain after seeing our parents that way. But this is going to be a dangerous night, and I need you to be strong. Can you do that for me?"  
  
I looked up and looked away pitifully. I seemed to have forgotten, that Aoshi too had just lost his parents. I placed my head on his shoulder, so I may see the road ahead and I tightened my grip around his waist.  
  
"I will be strong Aoshi. I will be strong..." and very faintly I whispered to him "I am sorry..."  
  
Aoshi said nothing and kept his eyes on the muddied road ahead, but I could have sworn, I saw a tiny smile sneak across his face.  
  
We finally arrived to the town, and I was awestricken by what I saw. My city was in flames and ruins. There were corpses hanging from broken windows, and young children's bodies scattered about the street. Aoshi slowed the horse to a trot, as we looked onward. Everywhere I looked, memories flooded back to me.  
  
I found myself remembering the days in the candy shop with Tai and Kip, and how the store owner would always save us each a piece of the sweetest fresh made candies, and even a special treat for Kip as well. Kip could stay in the store, and sleep at the foot of the counter, while we went around trying to count all the candies in each container within the store.  
  
I saw myself with Meiko in the fabric store, picking out many colors so she could create beautiful new kimonos and ceremonial dresses for the harvest party.  
  
But those memories slowly faded, and I was brought back to the reality that lay before me. The entire town had been stricken of its life unjustly; all were murdered by those manslayers. I clenched my fists and looked away.  
  
Aoshi could see that this sight was upsetting me, and he snapped the reins and his horse continued to gallop. Leaving that town, I know realize as I look back, was leaving my old life behind. After this night, I would never be the same, and I would forget, all that I was.  
  
It took another quarter hour to get back to my house within the community. When we arrived at my home, I quickly ran to the dojo. That had been where I left Tai, telling him to train until I got home, when I then would teach him basic swordsmanship.  
  
As I arrived in the studio deep concern filled my lungs as I slid open the door. To my surprise, and utter shock, Tai was not here, and I began to feel desperate. His wooden sword lay unaccompanied on the floor. I inspected the room carefully, trying to see if a manslayer had entered. Strangely, I saw nothing of the sort.  
  
I left the training rooms and quickly ran to our sleeping chambers. I threw open Tai's bedroom door and called for him as I looked inside.  
  
Still yet again nothing I could feel myself grow with grief with each empty room I found. I looked in my parents' bedroom, empty.  
  
I looked in my bedroom but it too was empty, for sometimes Tai would sneak in there in the middle of the night. When he couldn't sleep, he'd come to me, and I would tell him stories until he fell asleep in my bed. I did not mind truthfully, my brother and I were only apart in age by 2 years. 15 years old, and now it seemed more like a tradition then him actually fearing nightmares. Tai.... where are you?  
  
I darted to the eating quarters next, wondering if maybe Tai had just simply gotten hungry. As I opened the pantries, I noted that, all our food was missing. At first I thought that the Imperialists had entered and taken all it, but I noted that it was still too neat. If they had stolen it, everything would have been in a barbaric manner and state. I stopped and realized I had lost track of Aoshi, too set on finding my brother.  
  
"Aoshi? Aoshi where are you?" For the first time, my home seemed extremely large, and extremely empty. It felt as if the corners of the room were creeping up on me, and every sound I normally paid no notice too seemed to echo in the halls. From the shadows, after a few moments had passed I saw a pair of blue eyes. I grabbed a knife from the dinning table and held it ready. "Who is there?" and then, the figure stood in the light, and Aoshi smiled with his hands up.  
  
"Please young maiden, spare me," He laughed, although I did not find it funny, but I realized that he was trying to help my mood. "Have you had any luck on finding Tai?"  
  
I shook my head deplorably, "I have not found him Aoshi. Even if Kip were here as well, Kip would have barked when he heard my voice, this seems so hopeless"  
  
Aoshi walked over to me and squeezed my shoulders "Don't give up Anju. If Tai is even half as smart as you are, he probably escaped." He released me slowly and took my hand as we traveled through the rest of the home.  
  
After four hours of searching my estate, I realized he was gone, but that did not comfort me.  
  
"Oh Aoshi, what if the Imperialists took him hostage? What if they plan on killing him? What if he went after the Imperialists to fight them?" I was ready to sob now.  
  
Aoshi took me into my arms and tried graciously to coo me. He awkwardly put his hands around my back, not sure if he should be embracing me in my time of vulnerability. He suddenly jerked his head up looking to the windows.  
  
"Aoshi what is wrong?"  
  
"Anju, we are no longer alone. I think it is time we flee from here. The Imperialists are starting to enter this side of the town. If your brother were here, he would have heard you calling, and if he escaped, he shall be fine with your wolf at his side. We must flee to the countryside. I promise once this chaos dies down, we will search for your brother." I took his hand and stared to run "Where are we going?" he asked perplexed.  
  
"There is a hidden exit in this home. I can get us back to your stallion without being detected."  
  
I opened up a closet door, and Aoshi looked at me as if I were insane. I kicked at the back wall until finally if tell in, revealing much to Aoshi's surprise a hidden staircase that led into an abyss of black. We walked slowly down the stairs, and I grabbed one of the torches that had been ablaze. As Aoshi walked behind me I could only hear the sound of his breathing, this continuous calm pattern that reminded me of his heartbeat.  
  
After winding through the maze blow my home, we walked up another staircase. I pushed at the ceiling, and hay fell through the cracks, which made Aoshi jump a little. As we walked up, we finally saw light. We had made it to the stable. For a moment, Aoshi plumped down on a bail of hay, and I stood up pulling the straw out of my hair.  
  
"You must've had a lot of fun when you were a child. Playing hide and go seek in that maze below your home."  
  
"That exit is only for an emergency escape. I was forbidden to go down there, my father told me, that a monster would eat me up if I were to wander down there for the sake of entertainment."  
  
He threw his head back and laughed and I covered my mouth snickering at myself. For a moment though, I started to feel faint, and I felt myself getting vertiginous and I held my head.  
  
"Anju? Anju what is wrong?" Aoshi had stopped his laughing, and I fell forward and he reacted quickly enough to gently catch me. "Anju? Anju can you hear me?" His voice sounded direful and he tried to shake me gently.  
  
"Aoshi.... I'm sorry," I tried to stand back up, though his hands still stayed on my shoulders. "I guess I'm just anemic. I am slowing you down...."  
  
His face weakened as he bent over and looked into my eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut short by the sound of crashing plates and men cursing and screaming.  
  
"Anju there is no time. We must flee now. My aunt and uncle live in the countryside. We can take refuge there. Please try to hold on." He looked at me so worried, like he was my older brother. I simply nodded and we ran over to his stallions stable.  
  
He whipped the reins and the horse reared but then sped off in a gallop. A heard a man shout that he had spotted our horse taking off, and then I saw men running after us.  
  
"Aoshi! It's the manslayers"  
  
Aoshi looked back seeing them coming "Shit!" he whipped the horse trying with all his might hoping this horse would have an adrenaline rush and it would speed up. It became aware to me that these men were gaining and Aoshi could see it too. From my pocket I pulled out a side arm. Aoshi only turned back around after he heard the gunshots and looked incredulity as he saw the Imperialist's bodies dead on the ground.  
  
"Aoshi please forgive me for murdering these men." For a moment he was speechless, but said nothing as we finally were out of the Imperialists reach. I kept watch on the rear all night with my side arm ready. Far in the distance, I could see my home and above it much smokes. I closed my eyes and whispered softly a final prayer of goodbye. "They will pay...."  
  
We had left my house three quarters past eleven, and we rode straight to the countryside until midmorning. We were pushing this horse to its limits, and just as the stallion seemed to have met defeat, he stopped and said, "We have arrived"  
  
We had traveled many many miles, and Kyoto seemed to be ages away. Finally we were safe. The Imperialist would have no purpose wandering aimlessly through the countryside when Hiroshima was on the other side of Kyoto. For once, both Aoshi and I breathed a breath of ease.  
  
He took my hand and we began to walk up many stone stairs. Eventually we arrived at a temple, and behind it father up the mountain you could see a small cottage. Aoshi continued walking but I resisted. He looked at me  
  
"What is wrong?"  
  
"I want to pray for my family...is that alright?"  
  
He nodded approvingly "And I will pray for my parents"  
  
We both rang the ceremonial bell and I cupped my hands together praying.  
  
"Mother and Father, Suzu-chan and Namura I am sorry I could not protect you in your final hours. Grandmother Meiko, I am sorry as well for not aiding you. May you begin your second life, and live a happy one indeed. I will never forget the good memories I had with you. Father, I hope one day I can live up to your expectations and be the sakura flower like you said I could. Tai, wherever you are, please be cautious. I miss you dearly brother, and I do not know whether you are even among us living. If you are out there, please, I pray we shall find each other. And Kip, my loyal wolf dog Kip, if you are with Tai, like I believe you to be, guard him with your life. May Buddha watch over you."  
  
I clapped my hands together and walked away from the shrine slowly. I stood by the stallion and waited for Aoshi, who still prayed softly. I couldn't hear what he had been saying. He turned around slowly and walked over to the horse. He took the reins and walked the horse with us up the trail to the cottage.  
  
Aoshi knocked on the door gently and then smiled to see his Aunt open it.  
  
"Aoshi? What are you doing here boy?"  
  
"Aunt Hikaru, the Imperialists entered Kyoto last night."  
  
"Oh no...please don't tell me..." She stopped slowly and weaved her hand through her turquoise hair, knowing the answer Aoshi had for her.  
  
"Mother and father are dead. I am the only one to escape."  
  
"Aoshi...I am so sorry." For a moment, she took in the loss of her sister and brother in law, and then she saw me standing behind Aoshi's cloak. "Aoshi who is this young girl?"  
  
Aoshi instantly blushed and rubbed the back of his head embarrassed.  
  
"This is Anju Akira. My father had introduced her to me last night, her family was visiting last night before...you know" Aoshi did not mention I was to be his fiancé. Frankly, I did not even know if we were engaged anymore. It had been against our wishes, and our fathers had forced it upon us. But now that our parents were gone, maybe Aoshi would just cast me aside and find the one he truly wanted.  
  
I bowed solemnly to Hikaru. "Greetings. I am Anju Akira. My family was visiting Aoshi's last night...when they were attacked. My parents and grandmother perished last night as well. We went back to my home to find my brother Tai, but were defeated. He said that, we should try to escape, so we came here, we rode all night."  
  
"Oh my Dearie. I am so sorry for your loss, please both of you come inside, you two deserve to rest."  
  
She escorted us inside, and sat us down on a couch. Hikaru returned quickly handing us each a cup of green tea and placed some tea snacks on the table. I bowed humbly  
  
"Thank you so much for your hospitality."  
  
"Anju dear, there is no need to be so polite. Look at you both; you are so exhausted, that you have rings under your eyes like the raccoon. Finish your teas, and after you are done I will show you to your quarters where you can sleep."  
  
Out of habit I bowed again graciously and sipped at me tea. Finally, the feeling of warmth and nutrients entered my body. I could feel it rush through my veins, oh what a lovely feeling that was. Aoshi gulped down his tea quickly and quickly began his decent on the cookies. I only ate a very few, I was not hungry. I was still feeling the shock of the deaths.  
  
For a while, I stared down at my tea, looking at my reflection within the cup. I stared at it for a while, and then stared at the ripples within the liquid as my tears hit it. Aoshi looked up, half a cookie in his mouth, and saw that I was crying. He quickly chewed the cookie. I did not look at him, only stared down at the cup. Aoshi doubtfully put his arm around me and held me close.  
  
"It's alright Anju. You are safe now..." he murmured nuzzling his face against mine.  
  
"Aoshi...I just feel so weak...I could not protect them...." I trailed off closing my eyes as I felt his warm skin rub up against mine.  
  
"You are not weak, fate was just not with us tonight." He nuzzled me more and I could feel his breath blow against my ear.  
  
"I am so worried.... I miss Tai and Kip...."  
  
"Anju, I know in my heart, that they are alive. We will find them...I promise with my life that we will."  
  
I looked up at him surprised. "You promise with your life, but why?"  
  
He moved his face closer to mine "I promise you, because I will always protect you..."  
  
"Aoshi..." I looked at him fondly, and he smiled wiping away one of my tears. Just as he moved in closer, I fainted again, my face falling into his chest.  
  
"Oh Anju, you are so frail now, unstable from all your emotions..."  
  
Hikaru came in and like out a little shriek seeing I had fainted.  
  
"Aoshi, we should get Anju to the sleeping quarters right away. A look like she is taking her families deaths and the shock is setting in. Here nephew, follow me"  
  
Aoshi picked me up and followed Aunt Hikaru to the extra bedroom she had. Aoshi stood in the doorway and gulped as he stared down at the one bed. It was a couple's bed and Aoshi looked for Aunt Hikaru in disbelief, but Hikaru had already left him calling from the corridor.  
  
"Make yourself at home, and when you both wake up I will have a beautiful breakfast ready for you. Though it might be lunch, depending upon how long you sleep."  
  
Aoshi sighed and walked into the room. He quietly pulled back the covers from the bed and placed me under them, making sure I was warm and content. For a while, he stared at my face adoringly, but then shook his head in disbelief.  
  
This was the girl he was forced to marry, the girl he barely knew at all, one night together mixed with tragedy meant nothing in the long run. Hikaru did not know they were to be engaged anyway, and now that their parents were gone, Aoshi wondered if a beautiful girl like Anju would ever want Aoshi as a fiancé let alone a husband.  
  
Aoshi left me there to rest, only pulling off my shoes so I could sleep at ease. He walked out the room and stood outside leaning against the door sighing. He walked down to the water chamber. He removed his shirt and turned on the faucet splashing water onto his face and running it through his hair. The water felt good and cool against his tired skin and he took his moments to continue splashing more water on his face. The heat from the flames and made his skin feel very dry and irritated, and when he washed himself, he saw that a thick layer of ash washed off.  
  
He then walked back down the hallway shirtless and stopped as he stared up at the sky. It seemed as though the hellish clouds of ash were clearing, and finally the morning sun could be seen upon the eastern horizon. For a moment, he smiled at the sun, thankful that the night before was finally over.  
  
Aoshi tried to keep himself occupied even though he wanted nothing more then to sleep. He went back out to the front of the house, and tended to his tired horse. He stroked his horse slowly and smiled  
  
"You've done well my faithful steed. You too deserve a rest far greater then me or Anju does." He walked the horse over to the koi pond where the horse drank its fill of water. Aoshi then found a bucket and washed his horse carefully, trying to get all the ashes away from its eyes. Aoshi walked the horse to the back, where there was a small stable. He removed the stirrups and saddle and smiled. "Rest up Blue, you've done well."  
  
The horse only whinnied and closed its eyes in understanding. Aoshi once again went back to the bath where he washed his face and neck again, removing the sweat and odors.  
  
Aoshi then walked back to the bedroom. Although Aoshi held his pride very high he still needed to rest. He threw his shirt onto the floor next to the bed and then looked back at me. He saw that I was still in a deep sleep and he pulled off his shoes and slid into the bed. He stayed on the far side of the bed, and I stayed on the other. His face turned a cherry red from embarrassment, but soon after he too fell asleep.  
  
Aoshi did not sleep very long; his dreams only flooded back more memories of his mother and father. Aoshi had slept long enough to get his strength, and still smiled as I was still lost in my dreams.  
  
For a moment, he wondered what I was dreaming of, but then still saw the tears that were sliding down my face. He wiped one away gently, and he was a bit startled when he saw me smile. He thought I was awake, but when I turned over away from him, he let out a gasp of relief.  
  
"Anju, I'm sorry. This is my entire fault. If our fathers had not wanted us to meet that night, if father had not insisted that you come to my estate, your parents would not be gone, and you could still be leading your happy life. I hope you shall forgive me" He stroked my cheek.  
  
When I finally awoke from my sleep it was already dusk again. I had not realized I had been asleep for so long. I sat up on the bed, and pulled my kimono back over me, but it slid of my shoulders and stopped a few inches below them.  
  
I looked around wanting to call for Aoshi, but then I saw him. He was sitting down in the doorway daydreaming. His back was to me, and he did not realize I was awake. When I looked at him, I covered my mouth with shock, there was a huge scar going diagonally down his back. It started at his left shoulder, and stopped a little past his spine on the right.  
  
I quietly walked over to him and kneeled down behind him. I silently rested my hand on his scar, and traced it slowly. For a moment I felt Aoshi tense, but then calm again realizing it was only I. Aoshi did not face me, but still spoke.  
  
"So you are finally awake Anju-Chan?" he replied as I continued to trace his scar.  
  
"Yes I am. I am sorry if I worried you when I fainted. I don't know what's come over me, I feel so frail. But thank you, for bringing me to the sleeping quarters"  
  
He gave a small laugh and I felt his shoulders shake. "It was nothing, do not worry"  
  
I stopped tracing his scar, and leaned forward wrapping my arms around his waste and nestling my head in the arc between his neck and his left shoulder.  
  
"What happened to you Aoshi-San? What gave you this horrible scar?"  
  
He laughed again and closed his eyes leaning his head back resting it against mine.  
  
"When I was young, I was taught swordsmanship like you were taught. My instructor would always say I was never dedicated enough and I told him I wanted to be the best of my style. So one night while we were training, he slashed my back, and now said I was forever banded with the swords style, and now that I had bled from it, I could master it. He was a senile man. But I continued training, the scar on my back took years to heal, always training, allowed the wound to gape open again. I just wanted to prove...I was the best."  
  
"Oh Aoshi...." I murmured softly and I squeezed him tight. "I wish that hadn't happened to you. What a retched man to injure a child who was only so innocently young"  
  
"Yeah...my sensei...was my father"  
  
For a moment I looked at him in disbelief. "Your father?"  
  
"Yeah...when I found out he was a womanizer, he started to train me, hoping it would take my mind off it. But I'll never forget, I will never forgive my father for hurting my mother, so if he hurt one of his family, he'd hurt the other, exactly what he did."  
  
"Aoshi...."  
  
"Anju Akira, may I ask you something?"  
  
I looked at him again surprised; he never had addressed me in my full name except for the moment we had first met.  
  
"What is it Aoshi-San?"  
  
"When we first met, our parents were forcing us into this engagement, and neither of us wished to take part in it. But we agreed to go through with it, for their sake. But now that our parents are gone, we no longer are forced to...."  
  
"What are you asking?"  
  
"Should we go through with the marriage, to honor our parents? This would've been what they wanted right?" For a moment I thought. It would indeed honor my mother and father's wishes, and the same for his. But...I barely knew him, but he had saved me. It was a hard decision "Anju-Chan?"  
  
I swallowed slowly trying very hard to hold back my tears. I could feel my freedom slipping away but I nodded slowly.  
  
"Yes Aoshi-San, I will marry you, it will, honor our parents"  
  
For a moment, with both sat there silent, my arms still wrapped around his waist, and his head still resting with mine. We both wondered if we were doing the right thing, and I wondered what my brother was doing right now.  
  
The scarlet moon had slowly faded, and a pale white moon took its place. When another moon passed, we were to be married, during the time of the festival. I wondered if Aoshi was going to tell Hikaru of our engagement. I wondered about many things, but I felt his face nuzzle mine, and I smiled.  
  
He took his arm and moved me so I sat beside him, and I released my grasp. He placed his arm around me, and pulled me close endearingly allowing me to rest my head on his chest.  
  
We were silent, and the only sound I could hear was his heartbeat, this repetitive beat, that only sped up as I whispered my soon to be new name.  
  
"Anju Akira Shinamori...."  
  
End.  
  
Author's Note  
  
Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2 and more is on the way. Please Read and Review! Aoshi Rocks! 


	3. Awaken

Disclaimer: Here is my next chapter to Under the Scarlet Moon. I own nothing, but I shall adore Aoshi forever. Please R&R and let me know how I'm doing. Hope you enjoy it! Just a warning, things get a little physical in this chapter.  
  
Introduction  
  
Memories are often held dear to us. Times of our laughter, times of our joy, times of tears and suffering memories are what remind of us of our past. We try to hold on to them as people come and go through our lifetime. We grew deplorable when those memories start to fade like the worn black and white photos in your photo album. Memories, are the only things that remind us of the past, if the memories are to fade, we will forget forever, and never remember yesterday.  
  
Some say that when you meet someone, you never fully forget their face. Something in the back of your mind triggers the past, as you try so hard to remember their name or something that they had once told you. You waste your time pondering, never fully knowing at all.  
  
But all I ever want to do is forget...I want to forget that night so that the pictures can grow old and creased. I want to leave that behind, and try to start again, but I never can. My father once told me, "Don't let your past change you into something your not, but let be part of the person you become"  
  
Chapter 3 Awaken  
  
After Aoshi and I had come to the decision of marriage, nothing was ever the same. For a while, we both debated on telling Aunt Hikaru of our news. It seemed only fair to tell her, because it was a way of honoring our fathers. On the other hand, Aunt Hikaru might find our idea completely wild and unorthodox.  
  
Traditions were traditions, and Aoshi and I strongly believed that. Deep in my heart though, I doubted this idea of ours. I wondered if we were only acting like silly teenagers and not fully thinking through about our futures. This was the man mother and father wanted me to marry, but yet still I did not even fully know Aoshi. We decided...that we would wait awhile before telling Hikaru.  
  
That night, when I was actually conscious, we both stared down at the couple's bed before us. I had not realized it when I was asleep earlier, could you truly blame me, I wasn't conscious after all. I quaffed slowly and could feel myself shifting weight from one foot to the other; I often did that when I was nervous.  
  
Aoshi could only sternly stand and clear is throat a few times. He would stare at the ceiling, and I could see a thin line of blush flame against his cheeks. Bashfully, we both slid into our sides of the bed, each prying oneself to the very edge of the bed. I could not even face him I glowed with embarrassment.  
  
For a while, I stared at the wall that stood before me. I could not even move and I hardly remember breathing. For a while, the time dragged on slowly and I could pretend to be asleep. I would close my eyes again and again, but no soothing dreams would come to comfort me.  
  
Just as I had found some comfort, I felt something weave through my hair.  
  
"Anju-san?"  
  
"Yes Aoshi-Chan?"  
  
"Can you not sleep either?"  
  
"No Aoshi, no dreams come to me tonight, I am to melancholy and deplorable. I trouble myself wondering about Tai and Kip, and I cannot help but feel lonely without my parents or Grandmother Meiko."  
  
I felt Aoshi slide closer to me and I became aware that it was indeed he who was weaving his hands through my hair.  
  
"I am here Anju-san"  
  
"And I am grateful that you are. I cannot help but feel selfish, because I do know that you miss your mother and home dearly."  
  
"Do not say you are selfish, it is understandable you feel the way you do..." He dipped his face into my hair, being lost in its strands "Oh Anju- san...your hair is so silky and soft, it is like the doves wings"  
  
"Those retched strands, it takes me hours to tame it and make it at least presentable to a low level"  
  
"It does not matter how much trouble there is along the way, as long as you make it to your destination."  
  
I only sighed now feeling my weariness. "Mmmm..." after a while I felt his playful fingers stop and the silence filled the room "Aoshi-Chan?"  
  
But there was no response. Aoshi had fallen at peace, his chin resting on my shoulder. I only sighed, realizing how much he reminded me of a child due to his sleeping habits.  
  
I awoke at the crack of dawn, finding Aoshi still sleeping. I squirmed out of bed carefully and went to the water chambers. After bathing and laving, I began my morning meditation. Although I only spent a year with Hiko, his old habits never seemed to fade away. I sat cross-legged in the garden and began my breathing exercises. I listened to my surroundings; the calling of the birds, the splashing of the fish, Aunt Hikaru down the hallway beginning to prepare our morning meals, Aoshi's breathing, I could hear Aoshi's breathing as if he were breathing against my ears.  
  
After an hour or so I stood up and began stretches. I then quickly walked back to the dojo where a found a sword I could practice with. My original swords were back at the dojo, long gone and now melted with the ashes of my home. I knew where I could get an identical replacement, and I would later as Hikaru if I could go.  
  
I began my sword practice session with sharp vertical slices, trying to push off my dominant leg forcing myself to get a stronger product. I continued this motion for a hundred more swings, occasionally letting out a shout when I exerted my energy.  
  
I then continued my training with horizontal slices. That was very repetitive as the vertical slices were. I then quickly moved on to something you'd call a spin slash. The motion was that with one hand I would grip the sword and give a horizontal slash, while still moving my feet and eventually causing a circular motion. This attack I mostly used when surrounded by many enemies at once, it did not apply much damage, but the wind speeds caused by your motions often threw the enemy off balance.  
  
I carried on with another technique. In this movement I it was just continual attacks trying to ease the transition between them as much as possible. The hardest move for me is the left upper cut. Because I am right handed, it is often hard for me to do a switch off with the hands and still have plenty of speed to inflict a serious amount of damage.  
  
I was and still am indeed the only other person besides the Hitokiri Batosi to master of Hiko's sword style the Hiten Mitserugi, but that does not make me a flawless swordsman in general. I was still only 17, and I had many more years to train and perfect myself.  
  
I was entirely incognizant to the fact that Aoshi had been watching me this whole time. Only when I stopped to wipe away the sweat that beaded on my face did I hear him begin to applaud. I quickly twisted around and looked at him with a hint of anger and a huge amount of embarrassment.  
  
"So you weren't bluffing when you spoke to the Batosi that night."  
  
"Aoshi, I would never lie about my talents or my real father," I snapped back at him turning away.  
  
"I am sorry Anju-san, I did not mean to offend you."  
  
"Well you did. I may be a woman, but that does not mean I can't handle swordsmanship"  
  
Aoshi stood up and walked over to me. "You are right. You handle the sword beautifully; you have your father's blood thriving through your veins. He would indeed be proud of you" I smiled and turned back to him "So am I forgiven loving Anju-san?" he gave me a pouted look begging for his forgiveness. "Yes. You are forgiven Aoshi. But next time, do not peek and my training. I like that I am alone, watchers throw off my concentration."  
  
"Understood Anju-san, thank you for forgiving me"  
  
He bowed to me humbly grinning. I bowed back and then looked up as Aunt Hikaru called to us for breakfast. I placed the wooden sword up against the house and walked down the corridors to the dinning area. I bowed to Hikaru smiling, and she could only laugh. My humble ways and etiquette could not so easily be broken with laid-back styles.  
  
Before us on the table sat the most beautiful arrangement of food I had ever seen. Everything looked and smelled so divine and delicious.  
  
"Dig in children! Eat there is plenty" Aoshi and I both bowed at the same time, and when we looked at each other all three of us busted out laughing.  
  
We ate our fill of rice, beef stew, and oolong soup and smiled graciously when we were finished.  
  
I stood up and began to clear the table  
  
"Anju dear let me do that. I may be old but I am not helpless"  
  
"No no Hikaru, let me clean, it is the least I can do to thank you for our hospitality." I took the dishes outside next to the washings where I began to clean the dishes. Aoshi stood up, feeling guilty I was cleaning.  
  
'Aunt Hikaru, then allow me to chop you firewood. Later Aunt Hikaru, I have a request."  
  
"What do you request my nephew?"  
  
"My Anju and I visit the local market? We need to see if anyone has heard any whereabouts of Tai."  
  
"That is fine Aoshi. I will give you some spending money as well. Hopefully you will also be able to consider jobs. Since you two are planning on staying here. I hope I do not sound intrude, but I am retired now, and am not sure how long my stashes can hold off."  
  
'Oh Aunt Hikaru do not feel that at all. Anju and I had already discussed getting jobs. Think nothing of it"  
  
Hikaru smiled, and left us outside to do our tasks. As I washed the dishes I would glance up and watch as Aoshi bear shirted slice the firewood with a hatchet. He too, was well with the ax, which was similar to the sword. I could see his equal distribution of energies and movements.  
  
"You know Aoshi-Chan, I forgot to thank you for asking Hikaru if we could go to town. I am very grateful. Hopefully someone has seen Tai"  
  
"No need for thanks. There are many things I have to do in town on my own as well. When we arrive at the town, we will part for a short while to deal with our own businesses, and then we can rejoin at a restaurant called the Akabeko."  
  
"That sounds fine."  
  
I took about an hour to finish our jobs and then shower. Aunt Hikaru had found many of her old clothes for me to wear. She complained on how skinny I was I could fit into anything she had. I slipped into her azure sundress. The dress flowed down to near my ankles and the top of the dress began just at the three quarters mark of my breasts. I personally found the dress a tiny bit too disclosure, but Hikaru insisted that I looked succulent. She brushed my long black hair, and let it stay down, so that if flowed with the wind. She said I never looked more seductive. I wore an off white shall around my neck and it flowed to my sides.  
  
Aoshi grew impatient outside my changing room waiting for me. But Hikaru insisted that I would be worth the wait. I could hear Aoshi grumbling outside, and I couldn't help but giggle. After Hikaru applied a few forms of makeup she clapped her hands and said I was ready.  
  
She handed me my handbag and pushed me towards the door.  
  
'Oh Auntie Hikaru, I look ridiculous and dishonorable!"  
  
"Nonsense child, honor is no longer something you must live by, you must now live by your own self pride. Trust me when I say, you look more beautiful then the seika flowers that are blooming in my yard."  
  
I still resisted and tried not to be pushed to the door, but Hikaru gave me one final shove and out the door I flew. Aoshi, who had been leaning up against the wall next to the door, jumped in surprise and was ready to start yelling. But when his eyes fell upon me, he grew mum.  
  
I could my face grow extremely warm and even my ears began to turn a cerise tone. He stared at me, and I followed his eyes to see where he was staring. I looked down at realize he was staring at my breasts. I quickly covered myself with the shawl and screamed at him in disgust  
  
"PERVERT" and I slapped him in the face.  
  
"Damn it Anju that hurt" he screamed back rubbing his swollen cheek.  
  
I turned and stormed off. He followed after me, keeping his distance and we silently walked to town. I was still fuming with anger and embarrassment. No man had ever looked at me that way, and I was not sure what to make of it. I did not care if he was to be my fiancé or not. When we arrived at the village we stood at the center.  
  
'You do your thing and I'll do mine. Don't bother looking for me," I snapped  
  
"Fine! See if I have any concerns" He turned to his left and stormed off leaving me alone in the street. I stopped a man who was on his wagon carrying a supply of goods. "Excuse me sir. Have you seen a small boy about this high" I placed out my hand indicating a height "Who had a dog with him, he has teal hair?"  
  
He shook his head "Sorry little Missie but I haven't. But don't worry, a gal like you should be able to find another guy quick enough.  
  
"No No No sir! He is not my lover he is my younger brother. He escaped from Kyoto when the Imperialists attacked."  
  
His face grew soft and he shook his head again "My apologizes miss, but I'm afraid I still am no help to you. But keep searching, you never know. This town is a pit stop for any traveler heading away from Kyoto. If you stick around long enough, you may just run into him."  
  
I bowed to him graciously "Thank you sir" He smiled and whipped the reins to his horse and he continued onward.  
  
I sauntered down the street looking about at the many stores. The town seemed so peaceful and well mannered. It appeared like everyone knew everyone else no strangers wandered the town. I wondered if they looked at me like I was an outcast. Still, I did not bother to compute if it were true or not, I continued onward.  
  
I finally found the store I had searched for and opened the door slowly. The sounds of bells were heard as I swung the door open. I walked to the back of the shop where I found a man constructing a sword.  
  
"Hello sir, I was wondering if you could assist me."  
  
He kept his back to me and just waved his hand away "Go away young lady, I do not do business with weaklings"  
  
I scoffed and threw my head back placing my hands on my hips. "You have not changed a bit have you Raijuta?"  
  
The man quickly turned around and looked at me. "Only one girl ever called me that." He scooped me up into his arms "Welcome back Little Anju" he spun me around hugging me and I laughed like a little child. He placed me down gently studying me. "Well, I can see now you are not such a little girl. But tell me Sweet, what are you doing here? And by yourself for that matter, I thought at least Hiko would be here." He gestured me to sit down and he handed me a cup of tea.  
  
"Much has happened since the last time you saw me Raijuta. It has been almost 5 years."  
  
"So what has happened Sweet?"  
  
"The Imperialists invaded Kyoto two days ago...mother and father were killed."  
  
"You mean Namura and Suzu-Chan?"  
  
"Yes I am afraid so."  
  
"I am sorry for your lost my dear, but what has happened to Hiko?"  
  
"I finished my training with Hiko three years ago when I mastered the final attack."  
  
He stumbled back his mouth agate. "What? You mean you mastered the Hi-"I covered his mouth quickly  
  
"Yes Raijuta I did. But I do not need the entire town knowing this. I already am considered an outsider."  
  
"Oh I am sorry Little Anju." I then explained to Raijuta the rest of the story; the meeting of Aoshi, the attack, the Batosi, our engagement, and our morning fight. "Well, I am glad that you decided to honor your parents wishes they will be most pleased. The fight with, what's his name Aoshi. I am proud of you for standing up for yourself, let the man try to win you back."  
  
I laughed as his jokes. "So tell me Raijuta, where is Sanouske?"  
  
"Oh Sano? He is out back right now, mending another sword. I almost forgot why did you come to my shop to begin with?"  
  
"Well, with my home destroyed, my swords were as well. I was hoping, you could make me a new one"  
  
"For you young Anju? It would be an honor"  
  
"Raijuta, you are too kind"  
  
"Sano is in the back. I'm sure he would be grateful, to see an old childhood friend of his. He missed you dearly after you left Anju. He was sure heart broken..."  
  
"Heartbroken? "I asked him confused.  
  
"Ahh yes Anju heartbroken. You may not have known it when you were so innocent at 12, but he had a great passion for you." I could say nothing. Sanouske was the first friend I made when I came to this town. I hadn't told Aoshi about it, because it was 5 years ago. When I came here to train with Hiko, Sano was the one to take me under his wing and show me around the town. Sano was a year older then I. Sano and I had instantly connected as friends, and when I wasn't training we spent every waking moment together.  
  
Sano would take me down to our secret spot at the lake where we would catch the biggest fish and have the hugest bonfire roasts. Our days of fun were memories that I had almost nearly forgotten. It was so great, to remember those days of peace and ease. I could always remember as a child, jumping into him from behind and sliding his bandana over his eyes so he couldn't see.  
  
What intrigued me was Sano begin infatuated with me. I remember one particular memory. Sanouske and I had been walking through the woods on a hike, when it had started to rain. I remember us trying to run back to Raijuta's house. We were too far away, and we had found an abandoned wilderness cabin, once used by the men who watched over the forest. We stood under its overhang, dripping wet, I remember him draping his jacket over my shoulders. Oh that jacket, that jacket with the word bad painted on it. Sano may have been a street tough boy, but I always knew he was gentle as a lamb.  
  
The day I had left to return to Namura and Suzu he had been very glum. When I was packed and had already said my farewells to Raijuta inside his house, I remember Sano pulling me outside. I told him I would miss him dearly, and that I would never forget our good times. He pulled me close and kissed me quickly on the lips and then ran down the street leaving a trail of dust behind. For a moment he turned back and stopped, waving to me with tears in his eyes. "I'll never ever forget you Anju-Akira. NEVER" and after that he continued running, and that was the last I saw of him.  
  
"Why don't you go out back and say hi to your old friend?" Raijuta said breaking me out of my flashback. I nodded and stood up bowing slightly "Anju, I will carve you the most beautiful sword. I will have it complete in a week."  
  
"Thank you Raijuta, you always were the sword master"  
  
I left through the front door and knavishly made my way out back. In the middle of the lawn, I could see Sano sitting in the grass chewing on a grain stalk. He had his elbows on his knees, and he appeared to just be daydreaming. I saw next to him a pole of wood that still had to be chopped, and it was very hard for me not to hysterically laugh. Even as an adult, Sano still skipped out on his work.  
  
I walked closer until I was about three yards away from him and called to him "Hey Rooster, aren't you going to say hello to an old friend?"  
  
Sanouske instantly turned around. He had always hated it when anyone called him Rooster. As he turned I heard him shout "Who the hell has the nerve to say rooster to my back?!" As he fully turned around and stood up he looked up seeing me. "Anju?"  
  
"Hey Sanouske. It's been a long time..."  
  
I smiled at him. Sanouske quickly stood up and brushed himself off and beamed a grin from ear to ear.  
  
"Oh my god. Anju it's really you. Look at how much you've changed."  
  
"You should see yourself, you went from a shrimpy chicken to this macho stud."  
  
We ran to each other laughing and we hugged each other so tight I doubt either of us breathed.  
  
"Anju it is so great to see you. I've missed you so much" He looked into my eyes smiling.  
  
"I've missed you to Sano. So much has happened, my heart feels like it's breaking"  
  
"Anju it's your parents right? I read in the newspaper that Kyoto was attacked...I could only figure the worse..."  
  
"The worse is the truth I am afraid. But I feel stronger seeing you."  
  
He hugged me even tighter and rested his head on top of mine. Sano had always been a good six inches taller then me.  
  
"Now that you're back. I promise to protect you from anymore pain."  
  
I hugged him tighter and crossed my arms around the back of his shoulders.  
  
"Oh Sanouske. I don't know how I've survived this long without you."  
  
After our moment of reunion, Sano suggested he take me out for lunch for a mid day dinner at the Akabeko. I knew in the back of my head, I should have gone to find Aoshi. But being with my old friend, I completely pushed him aside.  
  
I had never seen Sano this cheerful as we walked down the street together. His face was beaming with so much joy. It was nice to see a happy face, compared to the sad and dead I had seen. Sano stopped mid street and took my hand twirling me around in a circle.  
  
'Wow Anju I got to say, for a tomboy samurai, you turned out to become a very beautiful woman"  
  
I blushed slightly and playfully punched his chest "And you're saying you haven't turned into a handsome bachelor?"  
  
He cocked his head back and laughed, "Oh Anju, I've always been a handsome guy"  
  
I could only laugh harder "Yeah a handsome boy who used to eat worms and was afraid of the dark" "That was then, and this is now" he replied  
  
"I know I know. God Sano you don't know how good it feels to be back. But all these faces seem new to me. I don't see any of the old town folk except for Raijuta"  
  
"Yeah well, maybe of the townsmen have gone off to join the war, and many of the ladies followed their lovers. Many seniors grew old too, and retired to Mount Hiei where they could die peacefully and could breathe in the holy air."  
  
"Ahh I see."  
  
We arrived at the Akabeko and as we entered a small brown haired petite waitress greeted us.  
  
"Well hello Mr. Sano, I see you brought a friend today"  
  
"Oh yes Miss Tae, this is my old childhood friend Anju Akira"  
  
I bowed to her politely "Pleased to meet you"  
  
"How charming. So Mr. Sano, I am still guessing you want your normal table?"  
  
"You know me like a book Miss Tae," he replied.  
  
We were seated at a lovely table by a window where I could look out at the town.  
  
"Mr. Sano I will get you your usual beef stew and sake. But what about you Ms. Akira?"  
  
"Please just call me Anju, and if it is alright, I would like the same as Sano"  
  
"Perfectly fine Anju, your meals will be here shortly" Tae quickly scurried away  
  
I leaned over at Sano and rose and eyebrow "Well you two seem to be good chums. Are you steady with her?"  
  
He looked at me and rolled his eyes like I were a little girl again "Nah, I've got my eyes on someone else"  
  
I raised my eyebrows again "Oh really?"  
  
"Really" He said confidently  
  
Before I could ask whom, Ms. Tae had arrived with our meals. That was speedy I thought to myself. Ms. Tae looked around, and seeing there were no customers, she took the time to chat with us.  
  
"It is great to see Mr. Sano so happy Anju. Usually he just acts all tough."  
  
"He can be a bit pig headed Ms. Tae, but rest assured he's as docile as a lamb."  
  
"Yes. I am grateful today is a slow day, usually we are swarming with people, I barely get a chance to talk so casually"  
  
"Well, if you need some help Ms. Tae I could assist you. I'm going to be staying in town for a while now. With the war going on in Kyoto and with no home to return to I'll be staying here. Besides, there is a chance my brother Tai could pass through, and really must find him. I have no other leads anyway"  
  
Ms. Tae smiled delighted "That would be wonderful. Why don't you come to the shop early tomorrow and I can give you the basic rundown to the store?"  
  
"That would be fine" I replied happily  
  
Ms. Tae smiled and quickly ran off as a man called for a refill.  
  
"That's great that you'll be working here Anju. Now I can come and visit you as often as I like"  
  
"As long as you don't get drunk. Then I'll have to throw you out"  
  
We both laughed again and ate our meals. The hours drew on and we talked about our pasts. It was so nice to see Sano again; words could not even come to explain it. I stared at his hazel eyes and only could shake my head and smile occasionally. Sano would sip at his sake every once in a while, but after his third cup I stopped him. He moaned I was always so protective, but he stopped anyway pointing out how I was still as stubborn as ever.  
  
Sano left a pile of money on the table and we waved to Miss Tae as we walked out the door. Sano walked me all the way up to the temple before Aunt Hikaru's house before he stopped and we talked again standing under the overhang of the temple.  
  
"This bell reminds me of that time that you had your slingshot and you shot a pebble against the bell in town and it echoed so loud and everyone in the streets stopped to look at you. I had never seen you turn a deeper red." I laughed  
  
"Yeah well you were the one who dared me to do it"  
  
"Only after you dared me to eat a snail"  
  
Sano slapped his leg and laughed "You turned so green when you saw it on the platter"  
  
"You big jerk, I ended up getting sick from that!"  
  
"God those were good times."  
  
"Good times indeed, it was great to be a kid. You didn't have to worry about growing up, the war, and getting jobs. There was nothing to being a kid but good friends, pranks, and childish heartthrobs."  
  
"Yeah, remember that time at the New Years Fair? Ascot tried to kiss Shura and she smacked him in the face and he fell straight into the pond?"  
  
'God yes, I felt so bad for him. He was being so brave, yet he was so afraid, his legs were shaking like crazy I really thought his legs would buckle and he would fall flat on his face."  
  
"He was brave? That little shrimp?"  
  
"Well yeah, if I was him I never would have even dreamed of trying to kiss Shura, I would have been to afraid. I wish I were as spontaneous as he was, he just went for it. It was so cute how much he liked her, he was head over heels."  
  
'Head over heels...." Sano replied quietly as he stared at me.  
  
"Sano? Are you okay? You have that dazed look on your face like when yo—"  
  
Sano's lips forced against mine, his hand slid behind my head, abruptly cutting me off and he pulled me in. I knew deep in my heart that this was wrong, but I closed my eyes and returned his tenderness. The only thing I could hear in my mind was a saying my grandmother would say to me when I moaned about growing up.  
  
"Time to awaken young woman inside. Anju you are no longer a little girl, you can't just be a tomboy and hang out with all guys. They don't want to be your friends; they want to be with you."  
  
Her words rang in my ears but I could feel my shield grow weaker as he continued to kiss me harder. He moved his pelvis erotically and I could feel myself seducing him. I allowed my hands glide up his chest and fall back down towards his genitals where I then would tease him so. In the back of my mind I could hear him whispering my name as bussed me. It was if we were the only two who mattered in the world, and everyone else had just gone away.  
  
"Awaken young woman...it is time to awaken..."  
  
Author's Note  
  
Well that's the end of Chapter 3. Chapter 4 soon on the way, I hope you R&R and stay with me as I continue to write this tragic love story. 


	4. Resurfacing

Disclaimer: Well Here's Chapter 4! Sorry if it took a little while. I was working on my other fan fiction in .HackSign. That has eight chapters. All you fans, check that one out too! I own nothing.  
  
((I wanted to apologize right now, in the last two chapters I used the word Sake instead of Saki. Sorry for any confusion))  
  
Introduction  
  
Each person has two sides their dark, and their light. Each side reflecting a part of whom we are. But mostly, we fall waste to the dark side, too weak to fight the temptations that taunt us each day.  
  
Maybe the entire world is dark, and only a few are the light that able us to see. All we are, and all we have to be; hiding behind what the world wants us to be, and wishing we weren't what we were.  
  
Or maybe I have it backwards. Maybe the entire world is bright and shining like the sun that hangs high in the summer skies. Maybe I am the one who is the pure dark, maybe I am the devil who taunts you all. What if I am the one you break before, wanting the temptations, needing those temptations. Who am I?  
  
Chapter 4 Resurfacing  
  
That night, after our many moments of intense seduction and erotic I pulled away from Sano. I could feel myself growing more and more conscious of what I was doing. Was I an idiot? I knew that I had a many waiting for me at home. I felt so atrocious. Aoshi and I may have fought, but look how quickly I have fallen to temptation and betrayed him.  
  
"Sano. There's something I have to tell you"  
  
But Sano didn't listen as I turned away from him. He only walked up behind me and nibbled at my ear. I quickly swatted him away like he was a pesky horse fly. I had to be strong, and turn down this deep love. Sanouske was a childhood friend, and we had left our emotions long behind ourselves as we went our separate ways.  
  
I had Aoshi now. I was his fiancé, and it was official. In a month I would be married, honoring mother and father. I felt Sano's hands soaring up from my waist to my breasts; I turned around abruptly and slapped him. He was acting no better then Aoshi had been.  
  
"You pervert! Stop it right now Sanouske"  
  
Sano brought his hand to his cheek looking at me with a deep mix of confusion, sadness, and shock. But the he smiled and his eyes shone again. I could nearly melt in those azure eyes.  
  
"Anju. I'm sorry...my desires became too overpowering.... but God!" he turned away clenching his fists and closed his eyes. I looked at his fists and watched them shake "Why did you have to come back Anju? I was nearly over you, and then you came back to me. I was so happy to see you, but you only make me want you even more. Anju...."I could see Sano was crying. The last time he cried, was when he had said goodbye to me.  
  
I very guardedly walked over to him. I took his fists into my hands and he turned to look at me.  
  
"I am sorry for slapping you Sanouske. But...we can't do this...we were childhood friends. There's something I have to tell you"  
  
As I began to tell him of Aoshi I heard a voice coming from the stairs that led up to the house. I figured it was Hikaru.  
  
"I better go Anju. Don't worry though, I don't love you any less for slapping me. I got too carried away. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night angel from the sky."  
  
He pecked my cheek and then ran down the temple stairs out of my sight. I turned and started walking back to the cabin. I tried to keep my poise. I knew that, in my heart, the right thing to do was tell Aoshi. But if it was this one incident, and nothing ever happened again it wouldn't matter. Besides, Aoshi and I were already in a fight, and I was already at a small level still mad at him.  
  
I decided, that only Sanouske and I would know this incident. If Sano did pull something again, I would have to confront myself with the question of whom I truly loved. When I knew the answer, I would definitely tell Aoshi.  
  
I walked up the temple stairs and entered the house sighing, I then straightened myself and called out  
  
"I'm home Aunt Hikaru and Aoshi. I'm sorry if I worried either of you. I ran into some old friends!"  
  
Hikaru appeared from the east hallway and smiled as she saw me enter.  
  
"Ah dearie you're home. How was your day Anju dear?"  
  
"Hikaru I got a job in town! This way, I can pay some of the bills for the extra expenses Aoshi and I caused you."  
  
"Dear that is wonderful. Did I hear you say you ran into some old friends?"  
  
"Oh yes I did Hikaru! I ran into my old friends Sanouske Sagara and Raijuta the sword maker" "Anju, it is wonderful you have found your old friends. That is indeed fortunate for you. So, has anyone seen your brother?"  
  
"Unfortunately no Hikaru. But I have much hope. The old man in town said that many weary travelers take refuge in this town. If I wait long enough, I know that I will find him."  
  
"Good, very good, keep your head high. He will return, I can feel it in my old bones."  
  
"Hikaru, where is Aoshi?"  
  
"Aoshi?" She looked at me surprised "Well, he is out back. He said he needed to vent some anger. I figure you to had a fight?"  
  
"Yes. Because of this dress you made me wear"  
  
I could only see a smirk fly across her face "I told you, you're irresistible. I think it better you two call it truce though"  
  
"You old fox. Trying to make trouble for me. But yes, better to fix the broken..."  
  
We both bowed to each other and I made my way to the back quarters. I looked around the house, but I couldn't find him. After I had showered and changed, I sighed finally being back in my comfortable kimono. As I exited our bedroom, I heard Aoshi let out a grunt. I looked up and I saw him training.  
  
I ducked behind a wooden pillar and watched him train. Aoshi's movements were sharp and clean with his sword, his style different then mine. Though I wanted to look away, I found my eyes drawn to him. I watched as Aoshi sliced the wooden manikins into many small pieces. In his eyes, I saw a look, I had never seen.  
  
For once in my life, I saw Aoshi's eyes. They screamed out to me, sadness. I wondered what Aoshi was so upset about. Even after his parents death he didn't have this look in his eyes. He swung again, destroying another manikin.  
  
He fell back into a more repetitive practice of just simple slices. I walked out onto the grass, but as he turned and slashed a manikin that was near my left I was shot back by the force of his swipe. I fell back onto my backside and Aoshi stopped dropping his sword on the ground as he ran over to me  
  
"Anju, Anju-san are you okay?" he checked over me carefully, seeing only a small cut on my cheek. He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed the blood away. "I'm so stupid" he muttered cleaning my cheek. I grabbed his hand with mine and I shook my head and laughed  
  
"I guess we're even. You spied on me when I trained and I spied on you. It's all equal now."  
  
"But...you didn't hurt me..."  
  
"Yes I did. I slapped you earlier today. I am sorry that I harmed you. If we are to be married, we have to learn to put up with each other better."  
  
He looked at me, and then looked at my hand, which still firmly held onto his.  
  
"I am sorry 't help myself...you're so beautiful" he looked away staring out at all the broken pieces of wood from the manikins. "Did I really do all that?"  
  
"Yeah, you did. But Aoshi, you seemed so sad, what's wrong Aoshi-Chan? Why did your eyes scream out that you were paining?"  
  
Aoshi looked at me again surprised. He looked at me, staring into my eyes, and then smiled.  
  
"I was sad because we fought Anju-San. I thought about you all day. I really wanted to go to that restaurant with you."  
  
"Well. I actually got a job at the Akabeko. So, you can come see me any time you feel like it."  
  
"Really? You mean it?"  
  
"Of course you can, you are my fiancé after all."  
  
There was a moment of silence after that. It hurt in a way, to know that I wasn't free, and I was to be married. But at the same time I was excited. I knew Aoshi was a good man. Aoshi looked down at me and smiled. He picked me up gently and started walking.  
  
"Let's get you back to our room so I can clean up that cut. Anju...I'm sorry"  
  
"I am sorry too Aoshi. Please forgive me."  
  
"How could I not?" he asked laughing as he placed me down on our bed. He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bandage and some cleaning alcoholics. Aoshi took a cotton ball and dabbed with the alcohol and then quickly patted it against my cut. I grimaced and pushed his hand off.  
  
"That burns Aoshi!" I moaned in pain, I was acting like a little girl.  
  
"Look we're almost done" He patted my face again and I yipped in pain.  
  
"Oww Aoshi it really hurts!" I burned my flesh so bad it made my ears swell up. Aoshi then kissed my cheek quickly and then placed the bandage over it.  
  
"Did that help at all?" he asked grinning.  
  
"No..." but then I grinned to "Okay, maybe just a little" I laid back on the bed and smiled "Thank you for fixing me Doctor Shinamori."  
  
He loomed above me and smiled still "Anytime Anju-san, anytime."  
  
I could only beam a grin even harder. Aoshi slowly leaned down and I closed my eyes as his hand slid behind my head. We shared our first kiss. It lasted for what seemed like ages. Aoshi pulled away for a moment, his lips still only a few inches from mine. He closed his eyes again and kissed me harder.  
  
He held me tight and kissed me again and again. Each time he kissed me, the feeling grew warmer and warmer inside of me and he embraced me harder and harder. After an hour of our embracing and kissing he let me go and plopped down in the bed beside me.  
  
We stayed quiet for a little while. Aoshi looked at me with his beautiful hazel eyes. This look always was one I never had seen before. His eyes looked so loving and happy. I wondered what he thought, and my face grew serious, as if trying to decipher him.  
  
"Anju-san, why did you grow so serious?"  
  
"Oh. Sorry Aoshi, I was just wondering what you were thinking about"  
  
He laid his head back on his pillow and laughed. "Is that all?"  
  
I stuttered embarrassed. "Well I was curious"  
  
He rolled back over and smiled gently looking at me. "I was only thinking of how lucky I was to marry such a beautiful and loving girl."  
  
I felt myself melt and leapt into him and he hugged me tightly. I buried my face deep in his chest, and I listened to that ever-comforting sound of his heartbeat. I felt his chest rise and fall with each breath he took in. He kissed the top of my head gently and whispered to me lightly.  
  
"I love you Anju-San..."  
  
I cried softly into his bare chest and kept myself close whispering faintly. "I love you too, Aoshi-Chan"  
  
Together we fell asleep. The first night since the fire where we actually fell asleep instantly, rapt in our dreams. We slept together still embraced and I could feel murmur in his sleep and I could only giggle. That night seemed to last forever, but just as I closed my eyes, it was morning again.  
  
I reminded myself I had to work for Ms. Tae today. I quickly did my morning trainings, meditations, showered, dressed and ate. I peaked my head back in our bedroom and found Aoshi still asleep. I knelt down beside him and kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear.  
  
"I'm going to the Akabeko to start my first day of work. Hikaru will give you directions, I love you."  
  
He moaned a little but laughed as I kissed him again "I love you too...I'll be there..." He rolled back over and went back to sleep. I only rolled my eyes and ran out the door.  
  
I did not take me long to get to town, but I hesitated a moment, not wanting to run into Sano. I knew that this was very futile because he already knew I'd be here. I prayed with all my might that he wouldn't be there the moment I would arrive. I knew that today I would have to tell him. After what Aoshi and I established last night, I couldn't go on playing these mind games with Sano.  
  
I entered the Akabeko, and much to my relief Sano wasn't there. Ms. Tae only greeted me, so thankful I was to see her face.  
  
"Well good morning Ms. Akira. You ready for your first day?"  
  
I bowed to her politely "Yes Ms. Tae. I hope I can do you proud"  
  
We only both laughed at our formality. Ms. Tae took me in the back where she gave me my uniform, apron, and childish hat. We first began the morning by scrubbing down every table and fluffing every pillow where the customers would sit.  
  
After that hour of preparation, Ms. Tae turned the sign to open.  
  
It did not take long until the first family entered. For a moment, I felt my heart leap into my throat as I family with a boy and girl walked in. But I swallowed my pain and put on a cheery smile.  
  
'Welcome to the Akabeko! A table for four correct please follows me?"  
  
I filled this families order fairly quickly and soon they thanked me gratefully as they ate their beef stew. That family, I would realize, always visited daily, even if they didn't eat, they would come to check up on me. It seemed that this one strange family became my second family.  
  
As soon as it seemed they sat down, they stood up and left.  
  
"Thank you for excellent service. Ms. Tae was smart to hire you" The father replied placing a few coins in my hands as he shook it. I could only bow and smile  
  
"Thank you for your generosity." The father only winked, and the mother smiled as she said she wish she had a daughter like me. Her own daughter moaned, but I teased her and said she could grow up to be just like me. The girl clapped her hands excitedly and they exited.  
  
I went to Ms. Tae offering her the tip, but she only smiled and said that whatever money came my way, could be used on my wedding. I took a step back shocked, and I wondered how she knew.  
  
"Mr. Raijuta stopped in while you were busy for his usual cup of saki. He told me the story."  
  
"Does Sanouske know yet?"  
  
'No. He doesn't."  
  
'Good. I want to be the one to tell him"  
  
"Sure is a shame. That boy will be heartbroken again"  
  
I grew sad "I don't mean to hurt him...."  
  
"Anju we all know that, its part of life, we move on, and we fall in love. The longer you stay with your memories, the longer you live in the past. Unfortunately, that is something Sanouske will learn the hard way."  
  
She nodded to me, and then I turned to greet more customers. The thought of telling Sano still stayed in the back of my mind as the day drew on. I noted, that Sanouske hadn't visited the restaurant once today, and I was hoping I could see him before Aoshi.  
  
As the clock near the entrance chimed three, I saw him enter the shop. I pretended I had not seen it was he as I bowed and greeted him like any other.  
  
"Hello welcome to the Akabeko. How many in your party?"  
  
"Well Lil Missie. Seems like someone's hard at work."  
  
I looked up and smiled. It was hard, to stay unease when talking to a friend "Oh. Hello Sanouske. Good afternoon. I'm guessing you want the usual table like Ms. Tae told me about?"  
  
"Yup. Wouldn't have it any other way"  
  
Sanouske walked behind me, and I couldn't help but feel my neck grow clammy with sweat. Sanouske just stared up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head like nothing ever happened. He sat down and I didn't bother getting him a menu  
  
"Your beef stew and saki will be here shortly" I hissed as I turned and walked off. I heard Sano call my name, but I told myself to keep walking...and much to my surprise, I did.  
  
As I stood in the kitchen, his order in my hands, I begged Ms. Tae not to make me go out there. She only turned me around and pushed me towards the door.  
  
'Anju, if you don't face him now. You'll only be running away. I know you don't want to hurt a friend, but you'll only be hurting yourself by not...TELLING HIM" Her last two words were shouted to me as she pushed me out the door.  
  
I walked frostily over to his table and I served him his beef stew and sake. I stood there glaring at him for a moment, maybe a moment too long. He took a sip of his sake, and with his eyes closed he replied  
  
"You're here to talk to me about last night"  
  
"Yes." I said all too unenthusiastically  
  
"I don't regret what I did. You're the only one for me and that's that. I love you and ---"  
  
"STOP" I screamed at him. I gripped onto my tray for dear life as he looked up at me surprised. He stood up and tried to take my hands, but I only shoved the tray at him. "Stop Sanouske just stop! There is something I have to tell you...."  
  
He looked at me still and I grimaced with tears in my eyes "You can't love me the way you do...."  
  
"What are you talking about Anju? You didn't seem to have a problem with it last night"  
  
"I am a stupid heartless girl and I let you take advantage of my vulnerability. I felt weak, and I thought you could protect me, but I see you only want me for pleasure. No more Sano no more!" I'm crying now, staring to sob shaking uncontrollably "Sano...you are my best friend and always have been...why can't it just remain that way"  
  
"NO" he slammed his fist against the table and his saki cup shook and moved slightly "I won't just pretend I don't love you! I've loved you since we were little kids! But we were little then! Then you suddenly disappeared from my life! I waited for you all this time, I told you I'd never forget you. You finally come back, this is my chance. I want you" He moved closer to me and took my hand "Why won't you love me Anju? Didn't you love me as a kid?"  
  
"Sano I loved you, but we were kids. We were twelve years old for God's sake! I moved on, I left this world behind in my memories. I can't live in the past anymore and abandon the life I have now!"  
  
"Why not? I've given everything up waiting for you!"  
  
"You shouldn't have Sano! I am nothing but a retched girl! My heart is black and I can't keep playing this game"  
  
"Anju..." He grabbed my arm and I slapped him in the face sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"Sano you idiot. You can't have me! You just CAN"T! DO YOU HEAR ME! NO, NO MEANS NO! I'm not that little girl anymore. I'm a swordsman! I'm the master of my style. I was and still am the air to my family's fortune! I can't go back to being that carefree tomboy! My parents are dead Sano! They didn't more than a week ago! It's been 4 days! I'm trying to be strong. But I'm just a weak little girl! I can't do this I can't lie to your face, and I can't lie to myself! Sano I'm engaged! That was my parents' final wishes! I'm engaged to the man I fell in love with, the man who saved my life! AOSHI SHINAMORI! Aoshi is my fiancé! I tried to tell you, but I fell weak to my darker side, with the temptations! I'm a retched girl! I'm sorry for hurting you Sano. I really am! I know I can never ask for your forgiveness, let alone our friendship! But I can't lie to you! I won't betray Aoshi! He saved my life and I will never EVER hurt him again!"  
  
I covered my eyes hysterically crying, and I collapsed to my knees, furiously shaking. Sano stood there awestricken and I heard someone call my name.  
  
"Anju? ANJU!" I felt someone shaking me.  
  
"Go away. Go away, please go away"  
  
"Anju open your eyes." I slowly removed my hands, to see Aoshi kneeling in front of me with a handful of roses. "Anju...I heard...."  
  
I couldn't even let him finish. I could only cover my mouth in shock, he knew what happened, and now he'd never forgive me. I stood up and quickly ran out the door of the shop. Both Aoshi and Sano quickly ran after me but Ms. Tae blocked the door  
  
"MOVE IT YOU WOMAN" Aoshi screamed  
  
"NO Mr. Shinamori I can't! You already know whom she loves! Why must you harm this girl even more. She's lost everything in her entire life. Her parents and brother stricken from her! Her childhood friend wants her for more then friendship and her having to reject him. She lost her best friend! She's lost everything Mr. Shinamori. If you go after her now, she'll leave you, and she'd lose the only man she has left."  
  
"MOVE WOMAN MOVE" He took her arms and shook her, but Ms. Tae firmly held onto the doorway  
  
"Mr. Shinamori if you love that girl at all you will let her go" He suddenly stopped looking at her. Her face was afraid but she was being strong, something I truly never could have done.  
  
"You heard the story! I know you are enraged and worried! But right now she's lost, if she can't figure out who she is without you, you'll lose her forever! You fell in love with the girl for all she is, and if that's taken from her, you'll be only destroying her! I beg of you Mr. Shinamori LET HER GO!"  
  
Aoshi took a step back, looking at his shaking hands. He only could cover his mouth choking on his own back Anju...."  
  
I took off down the street running. Tears fell from my eyes, and everything went numb. I didn't know where I was going, or what I was leaving behind. All I knew, was I had to find myself. As I ran I ripped the hat from my hair and threw off the apron as well.  
  
I ran and ran and soon the town was only a small speck in the bleak horizon I left behind. I pumped my legs so hard, I ran past Hikaru's home, I ran past the temple. I kept running until I was lost deep within the thicket of the woods.  
  
I stumbled as I went, weak with exhaustion and hunger. I would trip over the willow tree roots occasionally and part of my kimono was torn on a sharp branch. As I leaned up against a willow tree I felt the bandage on my hand and my memories of that night came flooding back to me. I quickly ripped the bandage from my cheek, ripping off the newly fresh scab and blood began to pour from it.  
  
I looked down at my hands, and I saw that I was still shaking. I held myself tight crying for my mother and father. I missed them so dearly, I wanted to find Tai, and Kip. I wished that Grandmother Meiko and Grandfather were here.  
  
I thought back to see Kyoto in those ruins and fiery ablaze. I remembered the dead corpses and all the innocently murdered children. I curled up in a ball, and cried harder, I did not realize that it had started to rain, and soon the skies grew dark, just as dark as my own soul.  
  
"Little girl lost in the woods?" I smug voice replied from an unknown source. It felt as if his voice was all around me and I stood up quickly  
  
'Who's out there?"  
  
"So we meet again..." A figure now appeared in the white fog "Anju-Akira" I looked to my horror to see the Hitokiri Batosi before me.  
  
"You....found me..."  
  
"Indeed my dear. This was nothing more than a worthless game of hide and goes seek. But now that I found you, you're no longer it, now you're to die." He drew his sword and it shimmered with the raindrops I took a step back completely speechless with fright. "Are you prepared to die Little Anju?"  
  
I could only scream out in pure terror and start aimlessly running the way I came. I could hear his voice all around me.  
  
"Come now. Do you really think you can escape your own death?"  
  
"I don't know but I sure as hell can try" I screamed as I kept running. I knew for a fact he was taunting me. I knew that he enjoyed playing this game of chase. I could feel my violet eyes shifting, I was changing. I could feel the anger boiling inside of me and I felt myself pick up in speed.  
  
'Damn you! You got fast girl" he called out, and I could feel him quickening his own pace.  
  
By the time the Batosi had caught up to me my eyes were completely black. He stopped looking at me shocked, afraid to see that I myself was in the state I was in.  
  
"Tell me Batosi, when you look in the mirror what do you see?"  
  
"I uhh... I see my reflection of course"  
  
'You lie. You see nothing. Your eyes are hallowed and empty, your smile is bland, your hair is split and withered, your skin tough and tight from all your frowning. You are a worthless soul Batosi. You feel that taking the lives of the innocent will make you feel and turn into a superior, but all it does it make you fall deeper into your state of denial"  
  
"You lie you witch!" He screamed at me. But I only began to laugh  
  
'You are a heartbroken little boy."  
  
"What do you know?" He finally replied unsteadily. I was slowly breaking down his walls of protection.  
  
"That scar on your cheek, it releases the emotions of heartbreaks and love. The woman you once loved you killed yourself. On your conquest for self- satisfaction you killed the one most dear to you."  
  
"NO" He screamed back as he hit me across the face. My face only shifted to the side, the pain not felt.  
  
"Your hands are permanently stained with her blood. You murderer, you thought you could once love, but you know as well as I do that your heart is as black as mine"  
  
"NO" He screamed again uncertain and now afraid. He looked down at his hands, and to his surprise his hands had a tinge of red to them. He grabbed his head and screamed shaking back and forth, completely senile.  
  
I walked up to him slowly and poked him on the forehead.  
  
'Looks like you're it again, we will fight again. Next time Batosi, don't be so easy to break down and fall"  
  
The Batosi looked at me, so confused, he did not recall this girl when he had met her at the manor. She hadn't acted this way before. Before she was only a cowardly little girl. What happened to her.... The Batosi disappeared and shouted in the wind.  
  
"I will fight you again Anju-Akira. I will kill you and your husband! I will meet you during the next new moon!"  
  
I then realized, that the next new moon would be right after my wedding. I would be married to Aoshi just in time to die? My eyes flickered back to violet, and I fell to the ground weak.  
  
"Oh God no...Aoshi...help..."  
  
I was afraid. I was afraid of my self. My past was resurfacing, I had done so well to control this manslayer power. It had come to me when Hiko taught me the ultimate technique, and never once had I harmed someone. I guess, looking into a fellow manslayer's eyes trigger the past.  
  
I remembered leaving Aoshi and Sano behind in the Akabeko. I wondered, what had happened to them. I didn't even know where I was, I had run so far, and my body ached.  
  
"Aoshi..." I cried out desperately. I was fading slowly. The echoing sound of a wolf's cry filled my ears. I heard the faint sound of footsteps, and I only cried softly, feeling my tears slide off my cheeks and hit the damp soil below.  
  
I had long since forgotten it was raining. So much had happened, their deaths, Tai, Kip, Sano, Aoshi, The Batosi, the rain, everything was hitting me at once. I could only believe what the Batosi had told me, I was only a weak girl...a weak girl with no heart... 


	5. Enshrouded Perfidy

Disclaimer: I own nothing! But that's alright. It gives me something to dream about! Anyway I finally remembered what Aoshi's sword style was; Kodachi Ryu or also known as the Kempo Style  
  
Introduction  
  
[i] A wise man once told me, that only the wounded seek out the blood of another. Only those who lost their hearts thrive upon the sword's cry. Their tears only shed by the screams of the many slaughtered. I wonder, if the sword can scream, why can't they? [/i]  
  
Chapter 5 Enshrouded Perfidy  
  
I remember awaking to the sound of hissing from a fire. My eyes flickered open, and I tried to gain focus as I stared at the dancing flames of the fire. When they did come into clear, I realized it was indeed a fire. I could not remember, when I departed from reality....  
  
The pelting of the rain was overpowering, and I remember only curling up into a timid ball while I wept. I guess...I must have fallen asleep. As I tried to sit up, I felt a bind on my arm, and as I gazed at my forearm, I saw much to my demise a bandage wrapped firmly around it. I also became aware, that those bandages were thick carmine. I didn't recall getting that wound; the Batosi had laid no hand upon me. As my hand slid across my face, I saw that there was a bandage on the wound that Aoshi had given me. Now, I distinctly remember ripping Aoshi's bandage off after I ran from the diner. What was going on?  
  
I was fearful. I did not know, who had made this fire, who was here, and who had mended my wounds. I was suspicious, my first reaction, was that someone kind had found me. But maybe, this was all an elusive trap. I remained motionless, like a broken china doll that had fallen from a shelf, shattered. My heart felt so weak, I wanted to be home, or Hikaru's home, and the closest thing I had.  
  
I flashbacked to the diner, laughing with Miss Tae; I flashed back, remembering Aoshi's face. His face so composite and distressed, I had betrayed him.... and he knew of my wrongs. I recollected Sanouske's face as well, a deep hurt, and a dormant anger...I remember him, clenching his fists, I remembered, my screaming, I remembered running...only running.  
  
It felt like I was dead. Everything hurt so bad, that now everything was numbed; I could not even feel my own heartbeat. My fingers would clench and unclench themselves against my own will, as if trying to keep me conscious. I realized, that draped across my damp and battered self, was a thick animal skinned jacket. I realized now, how warm it was, like being grasped in your father's arms. My eyes darted about trying to see where I was. From the ground, all that was visible was the, the mudded road I laid on, and the bottoms of many spruce and cherry blossom trees.  
  
"I see you are awake girl" I heard a pubertal voice call out. My eyes darted around, but I could not find this boys voice. I remained silent, hoping, praying this was all a nightmare. "I know you're awake. I can see you flinch."  
  
I still remained silent. I was not fully sure if this boy would be my ally or an enemy. He could easily be a worker of the Batosi. I remained silent, but could feel myself trembling with fear and anxiety.  
  
"Would you please calm yourself An, you're beginning to worry me"  
  
I felt something inside of my tug at my heart. Only one person ever called me An.... but it couldn't be...in the middle of nowhere? Was that really Tai I heard?  
  
"You know my name?" I asked dumbly, the figure had not yet made himself visible to me. I tried to sit up, but felt the piercing pain in my arm and face.  
  
"Don't strain yourself An! I only just found you a short while ago" A boy came running out between groves of cherry blossom trees with a wolf at his feet. I remembered last night, hearing a wolf cry out...I thought it was a pack... the boy came over to me, and sat me up very delicately.  
  
At last I looked at his face, and I could feel a flow of tears break out. I actually pinched myself, to make sure I was hallucinating. I lifted my hand and placed it on his cheek, rubbing it tenderly, feeling his flesh. The dog sat in front of us, and I watched as his tail swished every calmly back and forth.  
  
"Tai....it really is you. Please tell me its you"  
  
I saw his face crumble with a joy and sorrow.  
  
"Of course it is I. I am sorry that it took me so long to find you" He brought me inward and crushed me with his many hugs. I felt him cry too as he rested his head on my shoulder. "God Anju-san, I finally found you. It really is you."  
  
"Tai. I am so sorry. I came back, I looked for you; but Imperialists raided the house, and I fled with Aoshi to this town...I've been worried sick about you"  
  
"I know. I was practicing in the dojo like you told me, and then I heard Kip barking. I went outside, and in the sky was the thickest haze of smoke. My instincts told me it was they, so I quickly packed all I could. I'm sorry Anju, I did not have time to write a note, and I could already hear the Imperialists coming from a distance. I ran so far. I've been hiding in these groves since then.  
  
Last night, I was hunting with Kip, and I heard a woman scream. From the corner of my eye, I saw your figure dashing by, and that manslayer behind you. I was totally shocked to see it was you Anju-san, but I was even more surprised to see you in this condition. I heard you two talk, and when he was gone I heard you crying out for someone. I didn't understand who it was, and then like that, you collapsed, I couldn't reach you. It was as if you were in your own world Anju. You were in complete shock. I don't know what was wrong with you when you were talking to that manslayer; it was like you were another person. You really scared me Anju-san. I couldn't even call you my sister then."  
  
I looked at Tai softly. In only 5 days, had I never seen him blossom into a great man. I knew he was only 15, but already he stood tall, even for a boy who was terrified. I hugged him tight,  
  
"I am sorry. There is so much I must tell you. So much has happened, Meiko, mother, father they're...."  
  
"I know Anju, I know, I could only suspect the worse when I saw the Shinomori's mansion go up in flames"  
  
"Have you walked all this far?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess I was too petrified to feel the distance and strain. Besides, I had Kip with me, he kept me going"  
  
I allowed my hand to slide down onto Kip's head, and I stroked him slowly. I watched as his tail continued a repetitive beat "Thump, thump, thump...."  
  
"Tai, I am so grateful to see you. Buddha heard my prayers that night. I am so proud of you, father would be most happy with you. You truly have grown into a man"  
  
I watched Tai blush and rub the back of his head.  
  
"Awww Sister you're embarrassing me" After his remark, we both fell into a laughing spree. It was nice to laugh; it was a way to vent off all our anxiety. I had never been happier. I finally had my brother and my dog back. The two things of my past I thought I would forever lose. "Anju, I think it is time I get you back to your guardian's estate."  
  
"You will stay with us at the estate Tai. I will not settle for anything less. I will even pay for your room and board if I must."  
  
"Anju-san, are you certain it is your right to give me permission?"  
  
"I have already told Hikaru I will be paying for any extra expenses that come our way. She is a retired widow, and her husband was a politician, she is finically stable. But I shall still pay, it is only honorable."  
  
He rolled his eyes "Even in times of crisis and war, you are still able to remain honorable. I truly envy you for that sister." He finally released me as I rested up against a tree. "You can walk right?"  
  
"Of course" Slowly, very slowly I stood up. For a moment, I had to balance out and regain my barring. But soon enough I was off. "Let's go. I want to go.... home...I guess" Tai and I both had a moment of silence. We both felt the same way, Hikaru's Estate was not home, and it never would be, but what else was out there for us?  
  
It took us nearly half the day to return back to town. I only stopped at Raijuta's, knowing there I was at least safe so we could take a break. I slumped down and sighed as Tai and I sat down in front of Raijuta. Raijuta said nothing, but could clearly understand the excruciating journey we had been on. He slid us both a small cup of warm sake, and bowls filled with freshly steamed rice. We both bowed graciously and ate slowly. After a while, Raijuta finally nodded and spoke.  
  
"Without words did I realize that you are Tai Anju's brother. She has been searching for you. The wounds, and dampness I will not be addressing for I figure that this is part of your own story. But Anju, I do have a gift for you"  
  
"A gift Raijuta?"  
  
"Your sword my dear. I know I said I'd have it in a week but I finished it early. See I did it in 4 days, am I not the best swords maker around?"  
  
I could only laugh and nod "The best in the world"  
  
He quickly stood and disappeared into another room rummaging around for my sword. Tai glanced me and whispered softly  
  
"A sword Anju?"  
  
"I will explain more of this later Tai. For now, just understand it is for my protection"  
  
Tai opened his mouth to ask more, but closed it as Raijuta returned. He gently placed the sword and sheath in my hands. I placed the sheath on my belt and drew the sword out before me. I examined it closely, and I could see Raijuta's fine craftsmanship. The blade was sleek and thin, but tough, made of the finest materials. The hilt was made of a durable and had a somewhat padded property.  
  
"Clearly this is your best sword yet Raijuta."  
  
"Only the best for my darling"  
  
I felt my throat tighten before I asked my final question  
  
"Raijuta sir, where is Sanouske?"  
  
"Sanouske?" he looked at me puzzled "Well he and Miss Tae followed Lord Aoshi back up to Miss Hikaru's estate where they decided to wait for you of course. Miss Tae had to work pretty hard to keep Aoshi and Sanouske away from each other. She told them that you little Anju would explain everything to them when you returned. What was even harder, was keeping that hotheaded Aoshi fella from going on after you. That Miss Tae sure is brave."  
  
"Yes.... braver then I'll ever be..." I replied quietly staring down at my hands. Look at all the trouble I have caused everyone. I most certainly had ruined my chances at working with Tae. I wanted to cry and sob again, but I tried so hard to be brave. I looked up to see that Tai was squeezing my hand. The look in his eye, so serious, as if something said in our discussion had made him tense and upset.  
  
"Anju, it is alright to be afraid. No one is ever fearless." Tai told me slowly, nodding his head reassuringly.  
  
"The boy is right Anju. Now I suggest you get a move on, those boys have probably destroyed the place by now." Raijuta threw his head back and laughed.  
  
"Right. Thank you Raijuta. You are truly and admirable friend" I stood and bowed and Tai followed after me. We slowly began our walk to the dojo.  
  
My stomach felt like a python had wrapped its scaly self around it constricting me and making my nerves run loose. My palms were extremely clammy. My right hand was put in a sling, thanks to Tai's quick thinking. My left arm just fell limp at my side, swinging with my pace.  
  
Tai kept staring at me, and I knew in his mind he had many questions to ask me. For a while, I tried to ignore him, but soon I let out an aggravated sigh  
  
"What is it Tai? Just ask your questions!"  
  
"Anju-San, since when were you a samurai woman?"  
  
"Remember five years ago, when you were ten, I went away for three years? I went to be trained by sword master Hiko"  
  
I felt my heart tug again; Tai was unaware that I was not his real biological sister. He did not know, that Hiko was my real father. I felt so horrible, I am a betrayer, and slowly I was destroying all who were around me.  
  
"Oh. Now I understand sister. I would ask you who these barbaric boys are, but I figure I will see them soon enough. Aoshi, he sounds familiar who is he?"  
  
"He is the one mother and father wanted me to marry. In remembrance for our parents, we will follow on in the ceremony and we will be married in a month or so, depending on the fall of the new moon"  
  
"I am happy for you sister. And I am sure our parents are very pleased with your honorable decision"  
  
Our parents...OUR PARENTS.... oh my poor Tai if you only knew how foolish you were. If you only knew how horrible and retched of a person I really was, then you wouldn't be so pleased. There is so much I promised I would tell him. And right now, I wondered if Aoshi even wanted me back anymore.  
  
The rest of our walk was in silence. I believe that Tai could sense my harrowing pains. No matter how many times I wanted to turn away, it seemed that my feet were firmly set on moving forward. Kip took up the rear; he had been sleeping outside of Raijuta's shop. Raijuta had a thing about dogs, but it was a long story he told me when I was younger.  
  
For a moment, I showed Tai the temple and the bell. He silently said his prayer, most likely for our parents and grandmother Meiko. Myself, I prayed for my parents and Meiko, but I also prayed for their guidance. Please, do not let me make the same mistake; please do not let me loose all that is dear that I love. If I were to lose Tai from his anger, or Aoshi, or anyone, I would genuinely have nothing to live for.  
  
When we arrived at Hikaru's front door. I still stood there, my hand extended in a fist to knock, but I couldn't. It shook there, mid air, for a very long time. I looked to Tai, and I saw him nod and smile reassuringly, and finally I let my hand fall upon the door, giving it three solid knocks, soon after I heard footsteps coming to the door.  
  
It was Miss Tae who answered the door. She looked at me in disbelief, examining me from top to bottom, she stared at my scarped and ripped close, and she gazed at my busted arm and battered face. She then looked to Tai, and for a moment was perplexed but smiled, as she saw realized who he was. She only bowed slightly and pushed the door open and stood aside like a waitress  
  
"Well, Tai Akira, and welcome home miss Anju."  
  
Slowly we both stepped through the threshold, and I knew then that this was another moment I could not turn back from. There was an omniscience knowing, and I stood there waiting. Miss Tae guided us the dining room, and as she slid the door open, there in the room was Hikaru, Aoshi, and Sanouske.  
  
Sano sat in the back corner his arms across his chest folded resting on his elbows. His head was drooped slightly; I was unable to see his face. Hikaru sat the table completely poised, as if waiting for me and knowing I would return. Aoshi had been pacing and forth in the room. All three of them looked up to see me in the door; I saw smiles and eyes that sparkled with relief. But within those eyes I also saw a flaming anger.  
  
Aoshi was the first to run up and approach me. He began to scoop me up into the air, but stopped when he saw my broken arm and battered face. He gently put me down and looked at me afraid  
  
"Anju what happened to you?"  
  
Sano quickly got up and stood next to Aoshi his arms still crossed. He seemed very choler still, and I wish for once I could have a moment of sympathy. He opened his mouth to speak, and at first said nothing, but when his eyes fell on Tai he grew even angrier  
  
"And who the hell is this guy? Did he do this to you Anju?" He quickly grabbed Tai by the shirt and lifted him off the ground. I could see Tai squirm with fear and confusion as Sano raised an arm. I quickly dashed and slapped Sano harder then I ever had. He put down Tai and looked at me his hand shaking as it wobbled up to his face.  
  
"How dare you, even try to lay a finger on my brother! How dare you try to harm, what I love most, and what I've been searching for all this time? Do you know that he was the one who saved me? He was the one who fixed my arm! Sano, you let your anger cloud your judgment, if you ever come near him like that again.... I'll...."  
  
I realized then I was crying, and sadder then I was angry with Sano. Sano looked at me, and his face weakened as he drooped it.  
  
"Anju...I'm...I'm so sorry. I was just so worried and...."  
  
"Sano...I'm sorry..." He looked up at me confused, but I could only feel my tears falling down my face. I felt my legs buckle, and down to the floor I sank crying. "I'm sorry everyone, I've been so horrible and wretched, I've betrayed you all. I don't deserve forgiveness, I don't deserve to even ask for your forgiveness...."  
  
I felt Aunt Hikaru take my hand and stroke it gently  
  
"My dear you have obviously had a long journey. Please let us first get you into proper clothing, and some for your brother too"  
  
She quickly took our hands. She dropped me off in my bedroom and took Tai into an attic loft where she had kept clothes from her grandson. Within moments Tai and I returned, at least now somewhat courtly. I bowed and thanked her quietly and us three returned to the dining hall. When we entered, I saw Aoshi and Sano sitting on opposite ends of the table and Miss Tae waiting for us in the doorway.  
  
Miss Tae only gently came up to me, and making sure not to touch my broken arm hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek.  
  
'Dear, these two may be upset, but they love you both very much. Tell them all that is troubling your heart, and I am sure they will understand."  
  
"I believe that Tai and I will wait out here with Miss Tae. We will go and find a proper place for your elegantly beautiful dog, what did you call him Kip dear?" She asked addressing Tai  
  
"Yes Kip is our wolf's name. He is part wolf. And I am grateful to you for allowing my dog and I to stay on your estate. I was worried with Anju and Aoshi already being here, you would want two more mouths to feed."  
  
'Tai let me tell you. I've been a mother, an aunt, and a grandmother for a very long time. I am blessed to have all this life in the house again. If you understand I lack proper bedrooms, but there is a loft in the barn, and I will most definitely bring you blankets and proper clothings. There is even a make shit shower there, usually for the horses, but works the same. Consider it, your own private apartment. As long as you don't do anything to upset the horses, I will allow you to move materials around and furbish it to your liking."  
  
I smiled as I saw Tai's eyes glisten as a proud boy tried to hold back his tears.  
  
'I am eternally in your debt, not only do I get food, shelter, and clothing but I get to stay here with my sister. Thank you so much Hikaru. Really Thank You"  
  
He shook her hand and she laughed. The three of them departed for the barn, and I stood outside the dining hall. I took a few deep breaths thinking to myself, if Tai could be this brave, than I could be too. And with that final thought I slid the door open and stood there before them.  
  
Aoshi looked up at me, with those eyes I felt I could always melt into. His eyes, to my suspicion, were holding back their own tears. Sano's eyes were stern but in a way relieved. I quietly sat down at the head of the table staring down at my hands. They both said nothing, and after clearing my through I quietly replied  
  
"Who wants to begin the yelling at me first?"  
  
"We would never yell at you Anju. Even if we were angry," Sano said all too coolly. Aoshi nodded in agreement. "Though I do have a few questions for you.... like what happened to you"  
  
I let out a long sigh and flexed my fingers. "I took off running....just running until I got lost in the forest. When I actually realized I was lost, he appeared..."  
  
'You mean Tai?"  
  
I shook my head closing my eyes a little and opened them again. "No the....the manslayer....The Batosi had found me"  
  
"No..." Aoshi looked at me startled and he wanted to hug me, thanking the gods I was still alive, but didn't; only knowing Sano was here.  
  
"Hold everything. You mean you came face to face with Kenshin the Batosi and lived?"  
  
"I have met him before Sano...we ran into each other the night our families were murdered....I am, trained under the same style as he is....I am....the unknown other who mastered the Hiten Mitserugi."  
  
Sano looked at me baffled. "But, you did not fight him?"  
  
'No.... I too have...my problems with power. It is said, when you achieve your ultimate best, you become infatuated with victory and destruction but...I have been able to suppress it, for the sake of my family, especially Tai. But...that night...it returned, I could feel my old self vanishing before me, and I became the same as him...a ruthless killer...I hate myself...for being that monster...."  
  
I shook my head slowly pounding against the table "I hate myself.... but The Batosi left me, saying he would return, I had somehow, psyched him out so to speak...and then I lost consciousness. When I awoke, Tai had found me and already tended to my wounds. And here I am now. I know I do not deserve either of your forgiveness.... but...I can't help but ask for it anyway"  
  
"I figure you Anju-san. Sanouske and I spoke about why you were so upset in the Akabeko. I am...shocked, but after I saw what you did, and how you spoke to him and said your no's and regret, I know that came from your heart. Matters of the Batosi, you and I should discuss at a later hour..."  
  
I looked at Aoshi and smiled. My eyes glistened with happiness and joy, but my happiness was interrupted...  
  
"Well I don't forgive you," Sanouske replied "I waited all this time for you, the one I loved, and you come here with a fiancé. You do not tell me right away about it. Your only concern Tai, what am I chopped sushi?"  
  
"Sano...I tried to tell you...but I was weak. I am weak..."  
  
"Oh enough with this petty self sympathy. Look you are weak! You're worthless, petty, wretched girl and I wish to love you no more! If you know you're weak then DO something about it! I'm not going to sit on this sympathy train any longer. I don't know why I ever loved you, and I hope that Batosi comes and he opens your eyes. You're not a little kid anymore, where you can be easily forgiven, we can't fight like once were like carefree adolescence. You're 17 now, and I'm 18. I have feelings, and I always did. I never forgot that day I had to watch you disappear back to your old life! And I'll never forget seeing Aoshi storm into the diner looking for you! You lied to me! You had Miss Tae even lie to me! You're a selfish bitch and I hope that manslayer kills you and everything you love!"  
  
"Don't say that Sanouske!" Aoshi screamed banging his hand on the table as well "You can't mean that! Can't you see how upset and regretful she is? Would you really wish death to Tai, the only family she has left? Would you really wish death to me, someone who just fell in love with Anju just as you did? Could you really, wish death to yourself?"  
  
"What? Death to myself? What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Are you that blind Sanouske? Can't you see how much she loves you? She loves you as daringly as she does her brother Tai. It is not her fault she cannot love you in a relationship manner. But can't you see that the love and concern you two have for each other is just as special and just as important as a relationship between a woman and her spouse? You two are best friends. You know each other inside out, why do you have to downsize that special gift? You know as well as I do that Anju would fight till her own death to protect you! Why Sano? WHY ARE YOU SO BLIND?!"  
  
Sanouske stood there paralyzed. Sano, he seemed entranced, as if finally Aoshi's words and all that I felt were finally getting through to him. Sano covered his mouth with his hand, realizing and regretting what he had said. He stood there, wobbling to a degree, and he shivered slightly and looked over at me. I stared at him with tears in my eyes, my face worn and tired.  
  
His face was tacit, and I could understand, no words were needed for one of us to understand the other. But slowly, he removed his hand and took a step back, as if afraid of the very words he had shot out at me.  
  
"Anju I am sorry...." He turned and walked out the door. "I know why I love you, and I am sorry that I was so stupid to forget. I fell in love with you, because you carried the world on your shoulders, caring only for other's needs, and never for your own. You are truly an angel. I won't stop loving you the way I do, but I have now come to appreciate how unique or friendship is. Please, I give you both my blessing. I hope you are both happy together." With that he disappeared down the hallway, and as Aoshi looked around for him, he found it hopeless, it seemed as if Aoshi had vanished...  
  
Aoshi sat back down next to me and wrapped his arm around me as I rested my eyes.  
  
"I really thought I had lost you this time Anju. I was so worried, it was arduous to keep my emotions and tears locked inside. But Hikaru kept telling me, that you would return, she said, you had lost something. When I asked her if it was your brother she only shook her head. She said that was only part of the larger picture. Tell me Anju, did you find what you had lost?"  
  
"I did Aoshi. I found myself. But there is so much I must say. I must tell Tai...so many things...I have betrayed him much, and so unknowingly...I feel sometimes, that I should just die at the knees of that Batosi"  
  
"Anju, if you died at his knees, your brother would be sad. We would all be sad. The world itself would grow dim, without its star shining so bright. Now come, let me take you to our room."  
  
He slowly picked me up, like he always did. But tonight, he seemed extra cautious. It appeared to me, that he felt, or believed, that if he let me go this time, he might never get me back again. I had so much to tell him, and I was eager to tell Tai the truths, but I was so decrepit. Aoshi reassured me that I had all the time in the world to tell him, and that now, I needed my sleep, and so did Tai.  
  
"Your brother Tai, seems very fond of you. He looks up to you, you know that right?"  
  
"I know...but it is who looks to him. He has a very courageous heart, so easy to accept and understand things. He is so loving and gentle...so much like a hero"  
  
"He had a great role model. Your are the most compassionate person I have ever met in my entire life." Aoshi arrived at our room and gently tucked me in under the covers. For a while he sat beside the bed and stroked my cheek and looked down at my arm. "I am so sorry you have been injured, I wish I could have helped you"  
  
I nodded slowly and stared at the ceiling. "I was lost within an abyss of my own emotions. Pain was no longer a factor as the strain from my heart was too overpowering. This injury to my hand, I cannot even remember how I got it. I just remember running. I realize now that running from my problems only increases the stress and anxiety that is placed upon not only me but also the loved ones around me. I can be so selfish and misleading....I grow so tired so easily now...and I am afraid I am losing control of the monster that lays dormant beneath my skin and flesh. I don't want to hurt anyone by mistake, because of my blindness. I don't won't to hurt people anymore, I may not take their lives, but I feel I've already hurt too many"  
  
"Anju-san, people make mistakes. Sometimes we grow too upset, and we just need time to straighten out the path before us. We all understand that this has been the hardest challenge you have indeed ever faced. Our parents' dead, Sanouske, Tai, the Batosi, even me. We all played a factor in your breakdown yesterday. It's okay..."  
  
"I'm afraid.... I'm afraid of who I am. I am afraid of who I will become. I don't even know who I was or am anymore"  
  
He rubbed my hand softly as he kissed it gently.  
  
"There is nothing to fear. I will protect. I promise I will never leave your side again. I wait for the day we are finally one, finally husband and wife. Anju-San, you are my sun and stars, without you, I am incomplete. I love you."  
  
I felt his lips dampen mine for a moment and he smiled as he played with my hair. With his hand he slowly shut my eyes, whispering for me to sleep and relax. He stayed by my side all night, stroking my hand as I left contently. I could only hear his soft lulling voice as he continued whispering to me..."I love you" 


	6. Unknown Malady

Disclaimer: It has indeed been a long time since I have written another chapter to this fanfiction. I've been busy with the real world, and its nice to come back and finish a story I truly love. I own nothing.

Introduction 

Broken: Talking to ourselves as we drink our morning tea. Afraid to feel no birds and bees. Voices in my mind, and a life no longer worthy. Doubt is my leader...a man without a map as he walks life's journey. In a strangers arms, sweaty palms, running far and wide only here for the ride. I woke up to the sound of a breaking heart. My pieces filled with questions.

Chapter 6 Nameless Malady 

Finally being back in Hikaru's residence made me feel so happy, finally at ease with myself. That night I slept truly like a child enjoying good dream after the next. Many dreams were with Aoshi, my guardian, and others with Tai and Kip. My eyes would flutter open in the middle of the night, still wondering if Tai was even here at all, but my eyes would only fall upon Aoshi, who still sat up but slumped his head against his chest asleep. I could only smile, and return to my dreams.

Dawn came all too early, as I squirmed out of bed groggily. My arm still pulsated pain, but I was able to remove the sling from my shoulder, giving me at least more mobility. I strolled around the dojo silently, I had awoken earlier then I usually did. In a way the dojo seemed foreign, and I looked to see if anything had changed, but to my delicate it hadn't, it was just the same old dojo.

I arrived at the practicing grounds, and my hand gripped my new sword. The true test of Raijuta's work would be now, or at least soon, after I could use my arm to its maximum capacity. I drew my sword quickly, listening to the gliding sound as blade touched the inner sheath. I began my routine, slowly swinging and slicing the air, feeling the rhythm and moving with my feet. Midway through my exercise I feel to my knees, my arm could no longer endure the strains. The sword though, was remarkable, and it suited my like my own shadow.

"Sister, what are you doing training at this hour? The pheasants haven't even awoken yet"

I rose slowly dusting invisible dust from my kimono and sleeves. I turned and faced Tai with a smile.

"It is only in my natural routine, something I do each morning"

Tai rubbed his eyes sleepily and stretched while using his right hand to cover his mouth. Kip appeared soon after at Tai's feet sitting down swishing his tail

"You are indeed a rebel sister. You indeed insisted on learning to read and become educated just like the boys, and now you even use a sword. I swear, you are one of a kind An, you truly are."

I stuck my tongue out at him playfully as I walked over and stroked Kip's head.

"Better to be strange then a normality. It brings more excitement to a repetitious lifestyle does it not?"

"Oh An, again with your philosophy" He moaned, rolling his eyes as she stared at the sky proudly. I continued to stroke Kip's head while he licked at my face. It was so lifting to see that my canine had indeed watched over my brother. I felt someone's arms slide around my waist, and I turned my head to see it was Tai, slightly crying again as he held me. "I'm so glad you are back. I've missed you so much, I thought you had been hurt or worse..."

I turned around and placed my hands on his shoulders smiling reassuringly. I then gave him a quick embrace and kissed his cheek,

"You goof-ball, you know nothing could keep me away from you, not even the Red Sea. If you were in charge you'd surely mess things up like you always do!"

"I am only so happy that I'll let that slide for now." Tai rose slowly and smiled; he then turned and gave a wave. "I'm going back to bed, I'll see ya at breakfast sister." With that, Tai turned the corner and disappeared.

After tending to some of Hikaru's animals and doing the morning chores the sun soon had began to risen. The hallway grandfather clock chimed an early seven. Where had time surely gone? I stretched slightly, breathing in this fresh country air. I looked about, it was now deep into the fall season, and the cherry blossom trees would soon be blooming. The whole estate seemed to be alive with the whispering winds and willow trees. No matter what limit of distress I was feeling, I could on smile at this beautiful sight.

I pranced happily to the bathing quarters. It had nearly been three days since I had properly groomed myself and I felt smutty. I entered the quarters quietly and turned on the taps allowing them to run, the room was slowly becoming condensed with a blanket of steam.

I slowly unbuttoned my kimono and let it fall to the floor, then stripping myself of all my undergarments. I then slithered into the shower. The hot water felt good against my stiff skin as I laved myself slowly. The soapy texture felt good on my exterior and I could not help but let out a cheerful hum that drifted out the cracks of the doors. My soul and my body felt cleansed, but I still remained in the shower for a long time after. I was so entranced and peaceful I must not have heard the continuous thudding against the door. I peaked my head out from behind the shower curtain.

"Who is it?"

"Its Aoshi. Hurry up Anju you've been in there for ages!"

"It has only been a half an hour!"

I could hear him growl with anger, and I thought I heard him walk away. Soon after I heard the door slide open and I froze behind the curtain. I stared up at the showerhead, hoping he was just walking in to drop something off and then would leave. I watched his shadow move about outside the shower's thin curtain, I then realized that my towel was only within arm's reach. There was a small gap between the shower's walls and the curtains length, and I could just make out the white fabric. I slyly reached out to snatch it, and then found there was another hand attached to it at the other end. I looked out to find Aoshi standing naked.

"Aoshi what are you doing?" I stared at him in disbelief, my eyes staying far away from his lower seductive parts. I felt a thin line of blush growing on my face.

"Anju! I didn't realize you were actually in the shower, I thought you were just preparing in front of the mirror!" He stared at me for a moment, and seeing I was naked, for a moment gazed at me with a kinky look but I glared at him, throwing a bar of soap at his face. He ducked quickly, laughed, and then he jumped into the shower behind me, so I could not see him. I felt our hips touch and I turned an even deeper red. I tried to bend my head back to see him as I wrapped my arms in an X formation around my front. Aoshi bent over his face close to mine as he whispered in a hushed tone. "Stay here and wash off with me," he replied as he pressed himself harder against me.

"Aoshi, we should not be doing this, it is dishonorable, we aren't even married yet" I replied bashfully still trying to cover myself the best I could. Aoshi only gave a soft laugh and started to suds my hair with more shampoo. He weaved his hands through my hair so gracefully.

"As long as I'm with you, I do not care if I am dishonorable. I can't be away from you Anju-San; I want to be with you ever waking moment of my life. When we first met, we both did not believe in this idea of an arranged marriage, and I first wondered if I could ever truly love someone I did not know. Look at us now, it has been maybe two weeks now, and look how deeply in love I am with you. I know we are marrying, to honor our parents, but I want you to marry me because you really do love me. I want us to grow old together and be happily in love, I want you to bare my children, I just want to be with you Anju, just you"

I felt myself fluster another shade of red when he spoke of me wanting to bare his children. I was only now seventeen, and turning eighteen in a few more weeks. He wrapped his arms around my neck and rested his chin on my shoulder, his face seemed to be illuminated by the steam arising in the shower. He kissed my cheek this time and pressed himself against me further. Aoshi himself was trying very hard to control his desires towards me, but he could not help but try to seduce me.

I could not help myself as I tried to stifle my laughter. He kissed my neck and shoulder again and again entranced by me, as if he was lost in his own worldly desires that I could not give him at this time. I turned to face him, but as I did my vision suddenly went groggy, blurry, and with that I found myself falling again "ANJU-SAN" Was the last I heard, the screaming of Aoshi's voice.

Aoshi's Point Of View 

I never was the man to believe in true or honest love. I believed what my father had ordered me to believe. I hated my father, for all the horrible sins he had committed. Ginta that disgusting excuse for a human, I couldn't stand him. I would walk around my manor, each day seeing new woman's faces while my mother went out to town.

Many of those faces were frightened, and so young as well, I could not help but wonder if they had been auctioned off, or what their reasons were for doing such dishonorable things. We were in times of war, and money was severely scarce to the common, but why would a girl go so far to do this? I could only scowl and walk by, and as the years went on, I felt myself shutting everything out.

I would walk around the manor, my hands in my pockets, never looking my father or mother in the eye. I found ease in my swordsmanship, but as Namura became my mentor, it only filled my heart with a deeper black darkness. I remember the whip marks and slashes upon my back, and I wished that Anju had never seen those. They only band me with the horrible truth of my past, and I wish the past were gone.

But when Anju came into my life, it was like a tiny sliver of light in a world of eternal unhappiness, maybe she could finally lift the haze in my eyes, and allow them to glimmer once more.

-Flashback-

I had been riding upon my stallion in the town, just scooping out anything worth watching. I had actually ridden straight through the town and entered the smaller community of homes. I had stopped to rest and allow my horse to drink at a local well when I first laid eyes upon her, this beautiful maiden with black hair. She still looked as though she were younger then I, but I found myself becharmed.

I sat back against a tree, making myself inconspicuous. She wore a silky white kimono embroidered with the lotus flower for a border. She was carrying a huge water bucket and was socializing with a group of people. There were a few other girls, but none of them allured me like she did. The girl and the group slowly started walking off, most likely returning to her home with the water. I took my horse by the reins, and at a distance I follow them.

To my surprise, it was not the girl's residence at all, but a friend. They all laughed as the girl took off to cook as they moaned of how selfless she was. The maiden only turned and smiled at them, her eyes shimmered as well. I tied the horse to a nearby tree in the fields, so he may enjoy his day while I followed the water maiden.

The bunch sat down and ate as the water maiden served out the meal. The girls giggled and complimented her; she only held her serving dish against her apron and rubbed the back of her head with embarrassment. I found myself chuckling as well; she seemed completely pure and innocent. The group of girls then lit a giant bonfire in their back yard as they all sat around it. I did not even realize I was probably trespassing, but I sat up in one of their rose of Sharon trees. Once again the water maiden was off making faces as they roasted marshmallows. Her threw her head back and laughed, her laugh so endearing and adorable. I did not even realize how hungry I was until I watched them eat their marshmallows.

Another hour slowly drew onward and the group had lulled to almost a silence as they whispered to one another. The water maiden lay down against the grass and stared up at the stars. Within moments, I heard a sound, a beautiful sound, it was her voice, her singing, the water maiden was singing. Her voice was soft, but so calming, she sang so casually like she had no care at all.

The greeting of a young man calling out to her stopped her magnificent singing. She sat up instantly smiling and waving as a group of boys entered the scene. The girls walked over slowly as the boys bowed to them and they returned their gesture. Many of them broke off into pairs, most likely couples. Three boys, one with green hair, another blue, and the final one orange surrounded the water maiden.

I growled with envy as they picked her up and carried her playfully over the shoulders as the laughed with humor. I wanted so much to be down there with her, and at the same time pummel those guys' faces into the ground. They spun her in the air and she laughed beckoning them to stop. Of course they did, as it seemed they were infatuated with her as well.

The three boys then began to talk to her in a whisper, which caused me to raise suspicions. I saw the water maidens eyes turn sorrowful and afraid as she slowly backed away from them. The lady shook her head and waved her hands away in front of them, but they slowly advanced. Much of their voice was that in pleading, but at the same time dangerous. The orange haired boy grabbed at her hand and she let out a scream as he pulled her in. I sat up on my feet about to jump from my tree but was stopped as the girl retaliated.

Only a quick eye could have seen her spirited moves that caused the boy to fall to the ground. As she was pulled in she quickly pushed off, forcing herself into him, causing him to lose his balance. As he stumbled back with her she quickly jabbed him in the nose, causing a small trickle of blood to appear. The two other boys were angry now, and began their charge. I sat there, immobilized, unsure of to make myself noticeable or allow the maiden to fight her own battles.

I could see the terror growing in the girl's eyes, but she did not fight, only pushed through them and ran as fast as her legs could take her. As she ran past my tree, for a moment I watched her flea but I then jumped from my tree and chased after her. I was wearing black, so I doubt she could have seen me follow after he. I made a detour fetching my horse, and then took off in a gallop after her.

The water maiden to my surprise, was extremely fast, it was indeed to keep up with her, even on the horse. She ran far into the depths of the murky forest, and eventually she sat under a willow tree and began to sob. I stayed mounted on my horse, and I wondered I should go to comfort her. And yet again, she began to sing, her voice a bit shuttered from her fear, but the words seemed to comfort her.

I found myself off my horse, slowly walking towards her, but I halted, upon hearing another voice ring out singing to her. The boy emerged from the shadows and the water maiden turned her head and stood up. The boy ran over to her and embraced her. The boy was indeed shorter then the girl, but that was all I could tell due to the lack of light from the cloud-covered moon.

The two were probably lovers, and I found my heart slowly crumbling. The two then walked off disappearing into the horizon, leaving me alone, wondering who that girl was. I walked over to the spot where the girl sat, staring out into the groves of trees as she had done to comfort herself. I could not shake the girl's image from my mind, and I rested my head on my knees stifling tears and anger. Was I not an idiot, to love a girl I did not know? Near midnight, I finally went home, my heart still longing for her.

I had found out the next day that I was to be married. I remembered being very deplorable. My mind was still filled with images of that beautiful water maiden, I wanted no one else, and no one else could fill her place. I sat up on my bedroom, while my parents down below congregated with the bride's parents. I refused to come out; I refused to have my freedom thrown away by being married to a woman I did not know. I heard a knock at my door, and I opened it to find a servant girl.

"Mr. Shinamori sir, please understand this ordeal, it is tradition, and that is that no matter how unjust you may think it be. Do understand, that downstairs there is a girl who is going through the same thing as you. She will have to listen to your every command, and lose her virginity to a boy who hardly is ready to marry for his head is in the clouds. Please, at least speak with the girl, do her some justice"

I growled at her slightly, but came to realize that she was indeed right. I then came down the stairs with the servant girl quietly. I kept my hands in my pockets and looked down as I entered the room. Abuuji placed his arm around my shoulder and I lifted my head embarrassed as he spoke of me. Abuuji (father) then pointed to me my new bride, and no containment in the world could capture all the emotions I was feeling.

It was truly her, the water maiden, she looked at me, with that same terror and fear in her eyes. I found myself hurt, that she would fear me, but at the same time, she had not known I had followed her. I could not have been happier...

-End Flashback-

Now that same water maiden lies before me venturing towards death. Anju had lost consciousness while we were together in the shower. It was like an angel falling ever rapidly to the earth below. I caught her promptly and shook at her shoulders

"Anju! Anju-san wake up!" I shook her hard, and found that there was sweat dripping down from her face. I had believed it was to be the shower water, but I now found it not to be so. In the heat of this fear, I dressed myself quickly, my shirt half on and my hair dripping wet. I wrapped Anju in a towel, to make her at least decent and I ran down the hallway.

"Hikaru! Hikaru come quick! Tai! Tai! Get over here!" I screamed beckoning her, I ran to our room kicking the door open. I dashed to the bed and quickly laid her upon. Tai and Hikaru both entered the room panting

"What's the matter Aoshi?" They both asked in unison

"Hikaru has fainted once more, she's burning up with fever"

Hikaru quickly ran to my side and placed her hand upon Anju's head.

"This is not good Aoshi, she is in a critical state" her gaze was then shot to Tai, who stood in the doorway ready to collapse into a flood of tears "Tai! Run to town now, I need you to find Sano, Miss Tae, and a doctor. Tell them this is an emergency!"

Tai nodded and moved his lips, but his words were inaudible.

"Hikaru, what is wrong with her?" I asked in a panicked tone. I stared down at Anju. She lay there in bed panting ever so and shook her head breathing out hard in a deep pain. Her movements were so restless and sweat poured from her.

Hikaru looked at me gravely. "I am unsure of the disease or illness, but it might be due to the change in environment and activities. She has been through so much in these two weeks; she has not given herself time to adjust because of her selfless behaviors. I do know, that if we do not get her medicine soon, she will surely die."

I gasped and my eyes widened as I stared at Hikaru in disbelief. No.... Anju cannot leave me; she is all I have left. She cannot leave Tai and everyone else. I took Anju's hand and squeezed it tight

"I will not let her die Hikaru!"

Hikaru could only run off to fetch a wet cloth and water. She quickly returned and placed the cloth upon Anju-San's head. We waited impatiently for the others to return, and that hour, seemed more like a century. Anju's fever was slowly raising, and I could hear her scream out in agony although she was lost in her coma.

Sano was the first to rush through the room, then Tai. Miss Tae ran in soon after, her apron still on pulling the hand of the doctor. The doctor sat down beside myself and Hikaru and pulled out her stethoscope from her medicine bag

"I'm Megumi, tell me, how long has she been unconscious now?"

"For a little over an hour" I replied quickly. She placed the stethoscope on Anju's chest and listened, we all were silenced waiting for her first reply. She listened so carefully, and would move around the scope to hear in different locations. Megumi removed her stethoscope and looked to me.

"Her breathing is very frail and rapid. What were you doing when she collapsed?" She did not fully wait for my answer, as she rusted through her bag pulling out a thermometer. She coarsely placed the thermometer into Anju's mouth as she stared at her watch counting the seconds that ticked by.

I myself was very embarrassed unsure of what to tell the doctor in front of the audience of friends around us. I was still half dressed and wet, and Anju was naked without her towel. I feared someone would put two and two together but I had no other choice.

"Miss Anju had been bathing in the shower when I heard a loud crashing sound. She crashed to the floor as I ran into the bathroom. Could she have fainted from overheating?"

Megumi shook her head as she pulled out the thermometer and stared at the reading "Heat would not have caused this illness." She stared at the reading again, in disbelief "How is that possible? Her temperature is abnormally cold, yet she shows all signs of fever. The reading on this dial is 89.9 and dropping that is nearly 9 degrees lower then normal. A normal persons heart would have shut down by now."

"Are you kidding me lady? Your thermometer must be busted!" Sano replied angrily, his fist clenched and dripped with blood. He must have squeezed them too hard from his lack of control. Miss Tae shook Sano gently trying to get him to calm down.

"I am a trained doctor, of course all my equipment is in tip top condition. I cannot afford mistakes when a life is on the line" Megumi looked at Anju again, her face perplexed "This girl is having an overloud of pressure. Her body is very weak and strained, and looks as though she had not eaten properly in days. Have you not fed this girl?"

Hikaru shot a glare back at Megumi "Anju herself does all the cooking for the family, she always eats after we do"

"But, we never actually see her eat, maybe she hasn't" I replied

"But she ate with us yesterday after she returned with me" Tai piped in.

"What is this girl's name?"

"Anju Akira. Why?"

"Akira, she is the heir to the Akira fortune then? Her estate was destroyed weeks ago. Tell me, what has she been doing?"

"She has been training herself nonstop. She is busy about the house cleaning and cooking, and also has a job at the Akabeko. A few days ago though she ran off and was lost, but Tai brought her back yesterday"

Megumi looked at everyone terribly angry "How could you let her hit this state? She is seventeen years old for Christ's sake! She is having an overloud of her emotions, and she can no longer control them, not only that, it rained two days ago, she was out in the rain for hours!"

"That's why we got you idiot! Now do something before I knock you to hell!" Sano screamed

"I am you Knuckle Head! If you wish for my assistance you will treat me with better respect" Megumi barked at Sano

"ENOUGH" I screamed, everyone stared at me as a tear fell from my eyes "You're bickering shall not save her! She's ill and dying right before us as we argue over nonsense. Will you not just all shut up and save her! I swear if she dies I will blame you all for this! Her temperature is cold and low what can we do to bring it up?"

Megumi shook her head, ending her mute like mood. From her bag she pulled out a jar of pills "Give her these tablets every hour, two an hour due to her extremely critical condition, to bring her temperature back up, give her many blankets to keep her warm, and continue dampening her forehead."

Sano, Tai, and Miss Tae all sprinted out of the room. Tai returned with many more buckets of water and rags, while Sano and Tae had many quilts. After we had all settled ourselves and finished our duties we all looked back to Megumi, who was checking Anju's pulse

"Her pulse is weak, and slowly fading. There is not much else you can all do but pray that she can break through the fever."

"What did you mean before, heir to the Akira fortune?" Sano asked quizzing

"Do you not know her father? Namura Akira? He is a retired general from the Japanese's elite army and a strong businessman. He himself was worth millions"

"Would that cause someone to want to assassin her?" Asked Miss Tae

I myself grew frightful, thinking back to the Batosi. He did not want her head for the money, he wanted her as revenge for knowing his secrets and easily startling his soul and beliefs.

"It is not possible and assassin could have done this. This is a very rare febricity, we as doctors have categorized in danger 6 mood. Danger six is the highest form of disease, along with cancers, leukemia, and tuberculosis. See, when she stopped eating, her body had no choice but to shut down. Strenuous activity with malnutrition is unhealthy enough, but being exposed to those flaming temperatures, and then introduce to chilling rain was a fatal thing indeed. To add to that, she has been under a lot of stress and is harboring many insalubrious emotions, and finally, her devotion to her swordsmanship has only pushed her too the breaking point."

Sano looked down in agonizing downcast. "If only I had not been so selfish...she would not have run off into the storm. Forcing her into a relationship she had no feelings for. She only had tried to protect me."

Tai looked regretful as well..."I should have left a note...or found her sooner instead of hiding in the forest"

Miss Tae was tearing as well "I made her work too many hours at the restaurant, especially during the fight and unhappiness she was going through"

Hikaru looked at Anju crying as well. "And I, one who was a mother, could not even begin to comprehend or see the warnings of her slow fall to this illness. She was so selfless, cooking and cleaning without a moment of hesitation. Her devotion to make other's happy is far too much a curse on her behalf"

I held Anju's hand now fully realizing how inconsiderate I have been to her. In her moments of morning, I fell for her and only burdened her with my love wishing and asking for her hand in marriage. I could only heave slowly, beginning to fall into deplumes.

Megumi looked at all of us sympathetically. "You can blame yourselves all you wish, but fate is indeed a crueler thing then self guilt. Little things only lead to a larger mountain, and her death is quickly approaching. There is nothing more I can do for her here, continue with the tablets and the cooled water. I shall return tomorrow in the evening, to see if she survives the night." With that she snapped her bag shut and left us alone in the room with Hikaru.

"If...she.... survives...the night?" I asked in disbelief. Was Anju really that far away that she could die in my arms without ever seeing another speck of life? "Anju...please come back Anju"

The day dragged on into the late hours and early morning. We would alternate hours of watching over Anju, changing her cloths and checking her pulses and temperatures. Her breathing was so scarce; we often had to press ourselves against her to hear if she was breathing.

When one was tending to Anju, the other's slept, but I never left her side.

Her body was so weak. Her face was pallid. Her eyes stayed firmly shut, and though I held her hand, she could not squeeze it back. She was stale, although she sweat by buckets, she felt as though she was sleeping upon ice. Anju's hair had eventually dried, and stayed planate up against the pillows. Hikaru had long ago disposed of the soggy towel, afraid that more dampness would cause her fever to never cease, so now she lay under many blankets, still securely covered. Anju had made no real movements in over 12 hours, and it was now 10 o'clock in the evening. Her pulse was so dense and slow, I had never been so deranged.

Miss Tae had bandaged Sano's hands, so his blood would clot and he would no longer harm himself because of his frustration. The two were asleep up against the wall their heads leaned up against each other. Hikaru was still tending to Anju's waters, and Tai sat next to me. Tai had not yet slept, and his eyes were black and baggy. He was indeed exhausted, but he did not dare to leave his sister's side. I could not help but feel sorry for the poor boy, for he had only just found Anju just to have her fade away into this illness.

"Aoshi sir?"

I looked up upon hearing someone call my name, I realized it had been Tai, but his head was still drooped.

"What is it Tai?"

"What did the doctor mean when she spoke about a fight?"

"It was nothing Tai, only a pointless quarrel that now has passed" I said monotone without looking at him.

"Then why would Anju be so upset about it?"

"Do not ask questions that require answers you could not understand" I replied fiercely

"I may only be 15 but I understand many things even for my age!"

"You may understand wisdom beyond your years, but fights between old friends are not for younger brothers to ask questions about. Things happen in our lives, and some questions are best left unanswered. You sister had a fight with a friend, and it shook her up pretty bad, but what's done is done and now over. The longer you dwell with memories, the longer you live in the past, and it is best now to press forward"

There was a silence between us, and Tai now knew that he would not get his answer but still had a great courage to speak to me once more.

"Do you only wish to have my sister for her inheritance money?"

'Of course not."

"Will you protect her with the Batosi returns?"

"I will die for her if I must"

Tai was a bit startled by my answer, but smiled somewhat pleased that I had so much endearment for Anju.

"Do you not miss your parents as gravely as Anju does?"

"I miss my mother more then imaginable, but at the same time I am not one to openly show my emotions when dealing with sorrow and regret. Mother and father are gone, and I cannot bring them back. Your sister keeps her heart open to everyone, and although she is loving it can sometimes be her weakness"

"Have you dishonored my sister in any way?" He asked defensively, he greatly cared for Anju, and I could not help but smile at his loyalty and devotion to her.

"Your sister still keeps her virginity, and I shall not jeopardize that until we are married. So do not worry your little head Tai, I respect Anju more then anyone, and I will always keep her safe."

"Anju may say she loves you, but I will still be watching you. I do not want to see you quickly drop her because you infatuation with her dies out. Many men fall for Anju at first sight because she looks desirable, and many times her heart has been broken. She has been through so much, and if you inflict upon her any more pain, I will kill you and watch you gasp your final breaths" Tai almost seemed angry with me, as if he knew of something I did not, something he was not speaking of.

"I shall not harm her" I replied one final time. Tai then rose, and walked over to Miss Tae and Sano. He draped a blanket over the two, and he curled up on the futon mattress, and within moments he too was lost in a sleep.

Aunt Hikaru had long since left to her sleeping corridors, I promising her I could handle the evening shift. Everyone else deserved a good rest, for I knew that I could never be able to sleep with Anju in such a fragile state.

I vellicated Anju's hand tenderly kissing it lightly, for the longest time I stroke her hand, and never once let go of it. It was as if our hands were the only link that kept Anju for slipping away into the shadows.

I could only stare at her softly, as small tears trickled down my cheeks. She was so ill, and I could do nothing to save her.

"Anju-San..."


	7. Singing the Sorrow

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Rurouni Kenshin characters. Here I am trying to wrap another fanfiction, input is greatly appreciated!

**Introduction **

_Some dead president said, there is nothing to fear but fear itself. He's right, but tell me, what happens when what you do fear, is yourself?_

**Chapter 8 Singing the Sorrow**

_Everything was so hot, it felt like I was sleeping on a bed of flames, everything around me boiling with such immense heat that even my sweat evaporated from my forehead. The smell of burning wood and debris filled my nostrils. I sat up and looked around, and only for miles and miles could I see, just flames. I called out for Aoshi, Hikaru, Tai, Sano, anyone who could hear me, but still I was all alone. I turned back over in the bed and tried to go back to sleep, they didn't care about me, they're all gone._

In the real world Anju was tossing in turning in immense pain. Aoshi was frantic, he had no idea what to do, he could only slip more of Megumi's medicine down her throat and change the cloth on her head constantly. Her screams of pain woke up everyone in the house and they all knelt by her bedside

"I've never seen anyone in so much pain, what is this illness?" Sano asked no one in particular.

"This is why its so critical in the medical world, she's unconscious, and in such pain, and no one can know why, she's world's away" Hikaru said quietly stroking Anju's hand "Dearie, please pull through"

I could hear the fainter sounds of voices, but the flames seemed to block my way. I covered my ears, "They're dead, they're all dead" I repeated again and again, grandmother, mother, father, they were dead, and it was all my fault. We had to go meet my husband, and I was naive of the war all around us, I was careless, and I didn't wish them their safety, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Anju screamed again in pain and gripped onto the bedspread and Aoshi only took her hand again.

"Her fever is rising, what should we do?" Aoshi screamed desperately looking at everyone "Isn't there anything we can do, is there nothing, are we really all so helpless!" Aoshi's bangs covered the tears that were in his eyes, a proud man would never let anyone see his emotion.

"Its like Megumi said, if she survives this night, then there's hope...." Sano answered Aoshi quietly looking out at the stars and the moon

"What time is it then?" Aoshi asked quietly

"Ten thirty...." Tai answered them, rising from his spot and taking Kip with him "I'm sorry, I just need to think..." Tai took one last look and walked off _"Please god don't take away the last bit of my family, I'm begging you"_

Tai sat outside of the room, he couldn't really wander that far without feeling guilty and turning back. He looked up at the moon and stroked at Kip's fur. Anju was always the brave one, she pulled through for everyone, so they could all be happy, now, she was sitting on her death bed, and Tai felt so alone. Tai had been in that forest for days, just him and Kip, always running, afraid the imperialists would show up any minute and kill him like they had his parents.Tai had been so lost in his world he hadn't heard Sano come outside to sit down next to him.

"You alright kid?" Sano asked quietly smoking a cigarette.

"What do you think?" Tai shot back at him weakly

"Look little man, I know that's your sis in there, we're all just as worried. Keep that chin of yours up, that's what she would've wanted right?" Sano scratched Kip's head "Stupid mutt..."

"I've always depended on her..." Tai said quietly "I guess...I was just always scared...." Tai hugged at his knees looking at the sky

"Nah, I doubt it was because you were scared, your sister, has a way of making everything seem okay. She'd carry the world on her shoulders and still smile just so you wouldn't have to worry. That was part of who she is, simple, gentle, understanding..." Sano looked up at the moon "You're lucky to have her.."

"I won't have her for much longer" Tai coughed miserably

"Don't say things like that, she'll pull through, she's a stubborn girl, I'd know, we go way back"

"She went away, when I was little, for a long time, to train I think, was it here that she was training, in this area?" Tai asked turning his head to Sano

"Yup, how old was I when she first showed up, well she was twelve, I think I was fifteen, god it seems like such a long time ago. We were young, that's for sure, little bratty teenagers, daring each other to eat snails and worms, it was a blast"

"But why was Anju even here to begin with?"

"I'm not exactly sure, she just told me "I"m here to train, so I can be strong and live up to the Akira name" I didn't ask much about it, I figured it was her own business. But she stayed here for a few years, and over the years she did become stronger, it was obvious. She'd win the local competitions easily, but the money was always sent home to you squirt, you and your family" He rubbed Tai's head with his fist "I know you probably think she had forgotten about you all, but she talked about you every chance she had, and she missed you more than anything."

"It's empty in the house without her, I figured I wouldn't miss her, since we fought all the time like brothers and sisters do. Its eery, and then, because she _is_ gone the pressure is put on me. I'm sent to school to learn business, I am to live up with my father's traditions."

"Her presence is hard not to notice, she always to try and smile for us," Sano leaned against one of the support beams letting out another puff of smoke. "That's how Anju is, she's like the sunshine"

"Or the moonlight..." Tai added looking up at the moon

"Is there something special about the moon with you two?" Sano asked lazily

"She was born under the moonlight, Anju. Father used to call her a fairy from the moon, dancing under it, with a beautiful grace. The scarlet moon, it was a beautiful red the moon that night, that's what my parents told me. It was red like the flush on her cheeks. Amazing things happen under the Scarlet moon, things that don't usually happen. Our parents died under the scarlet moon, she was born under it, what can I say, its just always been a part of our lives"

"Under the Scarlet moon....so mysterious sounding, you think it was a sign" Sano yawned letting out another ring of smoke

"Maybe she's our special gift," Tai whispered softly "Angel from the sky...."

"We'll never know until tomorrow, angel's don't die so easily" Sano laughed lightly and rubbed Tai's head again. "Even if she isn't here for the rest of your life, know that you meant a lot to her, and don't ever forget it,"Sano eased himself up from his spot and went off to continue his walk around the grounds.

Tai slammed his fist against the pillar in such a frustration and then looked back to the sky "Angels don't die...but people do..."

Anju stirred in the bed again letting out another wail of pain.

"_Batosi...." She stood in the path of the angry eyed Batosi, his sword drawn, it already drenched in blood._ _One step after another he walked closer and closer to her, his gate clinking with the sound of his sword's hilt. He held it up high, and it refracted the light of the scarlet colored moon_ _somehow Anju released her own sword "Murderer...." she told him and he looked at her. Something was weird about him, he wasn't, completely angry, just, almost sad. "What...do you want?" "REPENT" he told her sadly, holding out a hand to her, and that's when she saw it, his scar was freshly bleeding. Anju reached out gently, her hand rattling, as it rested on his cheek, the blood sticking to her hand. He let out a scream of pain, and he thrust his sword into her abdomen. She let out a horrible cry of pain and fell to her knees._

"Anju HANG ON!" Aoshi grabbed onto her hand and held it tight "Please Anju hang on!"

"_Repinement..." He told her again pulling the sword from her as she coughed out blood. Anju looked up to him, the blood splattered all over his face, and she looked at his blood on her hand and she held it up to him "This is your pain, this is the pain your heart feels, even if a sword cannot kill you, the loss of your love will!" She shoved the hand closer to his face and he smacked it aside, but there was pain in his eyes "Kill....kill....kill..." He took another swing at her and she fell back screaming again. She staggered to her feet and the Batosi pointed to the sword beside her "Fight....fight....." "Fighting won't make that pain go away, that wound's never going to heal until you accept it, the more people you kill, the more it bleeds, it screams the pain and sings the sorrow!" "FIGHT!" He told her holding his sword to her neck. "Make me..." She spat at him and he hit her across the face._

"Her pulse is accelerating!" Hikaru cried "SANO! SANO! GO GET MEGUMI NOW!" Hikaru screamed as Tai threw another cold towel onto Anju's head

"_I will not fight...I am not a manslayer..." she staggered back to her feet._

"_Fight...fight...pain..." The Batosi ran his hand over the scar_

"_It hurts, it always will hurt, no matter how much you deny it, you're still living, you still have human emotions locked away in that mass murdering body! Open your eyes!"_

"_PAIN!" HE screamed and thrust his sword towards her again, but at the last moment she rose her sword up in the defense_

"_You will hurt no one else!" she brought her sword back and started her own forward offense attack. "You can't run from the pain forever, your soul will die unhappy, you will be unhappy" their blades screeched on contact and slipped about, Anju already panting from the blood that was spilling onto the floor. Their swords went back and forth, block after block, attack after attack. "Pain...pain....pain...." Batosi swung his word again and again relentlessly "PAIN!" He swiped the sword in a complete circle throwing Anju off her feet, and a small dagger just scraping the side of her face leaving a scar. She wiped the blood and spat at him again "You'll pay"_

"Megumi thank goodness you arrived, her pulse is catastrophically fast!" Hikaru moved aside as Megumi fell to her knees putting the stethoscope on Anju's chest

"How has she been surviving this long, its nearly three times as fast as a normal heart"

"_Why must you always kill?" Anju staggered up again, panting harshly from the pain_

"_Repent...repent..." He told her again and again twirling his sword_

"_YOU SHOULD REPENT! YOU KILLED HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE!"_

"_Repent...."_

'_THEN REPENT ALREADY!!!" She swung the sword at him, chopping off a few strands of his cherry hair._

"_Can't..." He said quietly, putting his sword away_

"_What?" She asked him gasping for air_

"_Can't....not....yet..." He told her again taking a step away_

"_You aren't going to just walk away from this are you?" She screamed at him tears in her eyes "You kill my family you bastard, I have to have my revenge!" She pointed her sword at him_

"_Revenge only continues the cycle of killing little Anju" A voice told her_

_Anju turned around, she thought it to be the Batosi, but it wasn't, it was, grandmother_

"_Grandmother?"_

"_Indeed child," the old woman bowed to her "Holding onto the past only continues the cycle of death. This time of war is not the time to hold even more grudge, it will only cause more people to die"_

"_But...he killed you....he killed mother and father....he took away my life....he took away you! How are you so forgiving to your murderer!" She screamed to her_

"_Calm down dear, you should rest!" She opened her arms, at they were no longer in the darkness, but resting on a bench beneath a cherry tree, Anju's wounds already bandaged up, and the sword gone_

"_Grandmother..." Anju looked to her_

"_Child...wasn't it you who preached to me, the longer we live in the past, the more we waste away with our lives?"_

"_I guess...that was me..." Anju looked out at the water _

"_Dear. I know it hurts, believe me, I know it hurts, I felt this way when your grandfather died. But dear, I know it won't ever go away, but it gets easier"_

"_How can it ever get better, you're gone, they're all gone" Anju cried softly_

"_Dear, why do you keep telling yourself words if you don't believe them?"_

"_Huh?" Anju looked at her confused_

"_You tell everyone, that you still have Kip, you still have Tai, you have Aoshi, Sano, Hikaru, Megumi, why don't you ever believe it child?"_

"_Because they can't take your place, I can't just get up and pretend all is right and dandy when you were MURDERED!"_

"_I know dear, but that's different from believing. You have to believe dear..." She told her_

"_I....I...." Anju cried into her hands, and she could, almost...feel the presence of her grandmother's hand brushing against her back "You are beautiful even if I said otherwise, you've grown into a lovely young lady, I am proud granddaughter. "Grandmother I?!" But as Anju turned around, she was alone again "Why is the world this way..."_

"How is she?" Sano asked quietly as Megumi pulled away from Anju

"Her heart is back to normal, now the fever just has to break"

_All this world we focus on the pain, we focus on the loss, the imperfection, the cripple, the weak, segregating the people by characteristics of difference, instead of those similar. Someone open the eyes of the blinded, no, not the one's who cannot see the people through the eyes, open the one's who are blinded through the soul. There is happiness, and there is the pain, counterparts of each other. We cannot survive with only pain, nor can we survive with no pain. Without the balance the struggle and purpose of living is lost. Let us instead look at what we do have in common, what we do share, before we lose it all, before the world truly is the world of despair._

Hours later of the early morning Anju opened her eyes instantly and sat up still lost in her dream and she gasped. Everyone woke up instantly and looked at her "ANJU!" everyone cried in innocence. Megumi was the first to get to her, and gently pushed her back onto the bed.

"It seems your fever has broken, thank god, maybe now I can sleep," Megumi ran her hand through her hair tiredly

"I'm sorry...but who are you?" Anju asked half consciously

"I'm a doctor, Megumi, you've been nearing death for quite a while now...." She closed up one of the bottles of medicine.

"Nearing death? What happened to me?" Anju asked confused, her eyebrows ruffling in the process.

"Lets see, at around noon this morning is when I came to see you. You were unconscious, you have a very rare illness, or did in this sense. It's like living the dream, feeling every ounce of pain in you, but because you're unconscious, no real doctor knows how to help you. You've had a fever for a very long time, your heart nearly tripled in speed, I'm surprised you lived, the probability of living was less than two percent. You're very lucky"

"How long....what time is it?" Anju asked Megumi

"Dear, its early morning. You've been out cold for nearly the entire day and night. But your fever is broken, you should be just fine now," Megumi told her gently "You have some very dedicated loved one's here, I think they deserve more credit than I do. As for payment, uhhh "she ran her hand through her hair "You're lucky to have lived, I'll let you off the hook with this one, I'm too much of a softie" She turned in the doorway and waved "See ya"

"Thank you Megumi!" She called quietly before looking around at everyone else. "Hey..."

"Hello dearie, let me go fix you some tea, I'm sure Miss Tae is already on it" Hikaru's old hand caressed Anju's, but then wandered off to the other room, the sound of shuffling feet and china cups. Anju coughed for a little bit, and then closed her eyes taking a deep breath

"An?"

Anju opened her eyes to see her brother at her side, and she ruffled his hair "Hey Tai, I'm sorry, for worrying you my dear brother, I'll never leave you again" she smiled "Sorry."

Tai only shook his head and wiped away his tears with his sleeve and only smiled gently as he smoothed the side of her cheek "Angels don't die sister dear...and neither did you," He bent over and kissed her cheek and then after yawning.

"Silly brother have you been awake all this time?" She asked him stroking his very messy hair

"Of course, I was afraid if I fell asleep, I'd wake up and you wouldn't" he whispered gently

Anju smiled and hugged her brother and then ran her hand through his hair again "Go to sleep now, I promise, I won't go anywhere, I'll be right here when you wake up"

Tai smiled and walked out of the room towards his loft in the barn whistling for Kip to follow. Now it was just the Aoshi and Sano, minus Megumi. Anju stared up at the ceiling for a while, pondering about her dream. Sano sat leaning against the wall adjacent to the doorway, and Aoshi knelt by Anju.

"Repent...." she whispered softly before closing her eyes

"What?" Aoshi asked her confused. Her eyes opened back up

"Repent...and the pain will lessen...kill...and the pain will grow..." She worded quietly. "Something in my dream"

"Your dream, was that why you kept screaming?" Aoshi asked her softly

"I don't know, the bridge between reality and dreams is far stretched, to me, it felt like I _was _awake, and I was living out the dream, the blood, the tears, it felt real, even if I was unconscious in this world."

"You make it sound like there's more than one world," Sano pointed out quietly

"Maybe there is...maybe our dreams are our own worlds...." Anju answered him before coughing

"Easy Anju, don't strain yourself!" Aoshi told her worriedly

"I'm sorry, I"m sorry" She told him gently, her eyes were soft, almost foggy with tears, "One cannot repent until one realizes what they have done...." She whispered aloud

"I think the medication is making her crazy" Sano laughed softly as he stood up and wandered over to her. "She's one stubborn girl I'll tell ya that, she wouldn't let herself die from such a silly illness" He brushed aside a strand of her hair "She'd rather die at the end of a sword than anything else, somehow, that's the only way I can imagine it. Even if she is a woman, sword not really being offered to her, she'd rather battle, fighting for something she firmly believed in, than dying of some deadly disease...strange girl" He laughed again

"Is she really the only other person to learn Hiten Mitserugi?" Aoshi asked quietly

"Apparently, the unknown other, that's how the legend started. Hiko, the teacher, he said he only had three students, Kenshin Himura and the unknown other. The batosi may have taught others, but none know the style exactly as those two do."

"Do you think that's why the Batosi wants to kill her, because she _does_ know the techniques, she'd be the only one to take him down?" Aoshi asked

"Probably, its intimidating. Someone else knows your moves before you can make them, how do you expect them to win? If the Batosi has someone who knows his style, he also might lose his glory, if a girl can learn his techniques, why can't normal men?You see where this leads, it leads to questions and doubt, that's something the Batosi wouldn't want" Sano told Aoshi firmly

"So he really will come for her, eventually. I wanted to believe it was all a bluff, like he just wanted to frighten us after he killed our families, but Anju said she found him again in the forest, which means he's nearby...." Aoshi was distraught by this, he could come and attack her now, while she was completely vulnerable.

"He does give a warning, for some odd reason, he'll give her time to prepare, maybe so she's at the peak of her condition, and she can actually put up a decent fight. He likes a good fight every now and then I figure, since most people he kill have little or no skill at all"

"What do we do when he does come?" Aoshi asked looking down at Anju

"We protect her, she's the only one who can stop him, or at least, try to I mean" Sano whispered

"His scar screams the pain of lost love and death...." Aoshi repeated something Anju had said

"What the heck are you talking about?" Sano asked him totally baffled

"It's something Anju had told the Batosi the very first time we met...."

"Sounds like something weird..." Sano said scratching his head "Its almost like she pries into his very soul and finds out what makes him tick, I'm not sure if I should call that an admirable trick"

"I don't think it's a trick the way you say it is. I don't think anyone taught her it either"

"Really?" Sano perked up his head, this was rather interesting

Aoshi nodded "Looking into someone's soul, she seems to do that quite a lot. She could look into someone's eyes, and know what they were feeling, naturally I mean, without any strings attached, it might just be a natural observation that she has"

"Do you think it helps her at all?" Sano asked

"I think it might be more of a weakness, if she can see the pain an opponent goes through, she might be more likely to ease up on them, or try and help them rather than kill them"

"Well than, that might not work out for her."

"However, when she did tell the Batosi that he was rather disturbed by it, I doubt anyone knows the origin behind his scar, its rather fresh too, it looks like it might still bleed from time to time"

"That's interesting." Sano scratched his chin thinking about it

"Do you think the Batosi ever had a lover, because that's something Anju was talking about too"

"The Batosi? I'm surprised anyone could ever last long enough in his presence to even get out their name before being killed"

"That's what I thought," Aoshi looked back to Anju "What is it that she sees that we can't?"

"She isn't a man, that's all" Hikaru told them coming in with a tray with cups of tea

"What does that have anything to do with anything?" Sano asked taking a cup

"Men are often times blinded by the arrogance and vengeful spite that comes with being a warrior. You don't see women in the field, because they view things that men usually toss aside. How many times have you ever looked at an opponent and wondered if he had a wife, or had a family waiting back home for him?" Hikaru asked them sipping at the tea

"But that's not the point in battle. The point to battle is simply kill an opponent" Sano answered

"Yes, I know Anju is aware of that, but she goes about it different way, or most women do I believe. You simply kill, swipe swipe and then you're dead. She takes a moment to pry into a person, its almost sad, knowing this person either truly deserves to die or doesn't, anyone you see that isn't on your side is someone who must die, in her eyes, its anyone with a black heart that should perish"

"But doesn't that make her, I dunno, weak?" Sano asked

"In a man's world yes it does, but she is also an angel for being one. When you enlist in an army, most are not there just to blatantly kill, you are there to _protect_ your country or what is yours. Do those people really deserve to die for protecting something they love?"

"Not really, but not all wars are about that, its about the corrupt government and the battles over territory" Sano began

"But, who's fault is that, the soldiers, or the people higher in the government?" Aunt Hikaru questioned

"Well it's the politicians fault of course" Sano preached

"Exactly, so why must an innocent man die for some barbarian dictator's mistake?" Hikaru asked Sano "That is what Anju believes...that's what she sees in people's hearts"

"Couldn't that be her own destruction then?" Sano asked starting his second cup of tea

"It might....it might not....who knows...she could be the one to save us all..."

"Save us from what, the Batosi?" Sano asked

"You are simply one tracked mind aren't you! She can save us from the darkness, if even one person can see the light in a world of darkness, then there's hope, and with hope there will be followers, I just pray, she doesn't lose sight of it all" Hikaru finished speaking and took another sip of her tea

Aoshi sat with his tea looking at Anju baffled. How could his beloved ever be trained under the same swords style as the Batosi? How is she not cold hearted and ruthless like he is, but instead our protector. The irony that two opposites derive from the same sword style. She can save us? Save us from him? Save us from the darkness? What was going on with this world? Wasn't it simply a battle of life and death, there were so many more complications he hadn't even been aware of. It felt like his head was spinning and he needed it all to stop. Aoshi took a sip of his tea and closed his eyes letting out a sigh

"My dear nephew will you not rest now peacefully? You too Sanouske. Anju has broken her fever I do believe, now all she needs is some more sleep to regain her strength. You too can sleep easy now, I'll check up on her in a few hours, give her time to rest again" Hikaru smiled

"Are you sure she's okay?" Sano asked uncertain

"Yes dear, the worst is over now, she'll be fine."

Sano rose from his spot leaving his tea cup on the tray "I'm going to the loft, keep that little brother of hers some company, or many I'll just sleep there too" Sano chuckled and waved walking out

Hikaru began to collect her things stacking the tea cups atop each other "Sano is such a good man, I have empathy on his heart, you're a lucky boy my nephew, don't ever forget that," She rose from her spot and lingered in the doorway "Poor Anju, I hope that she does not face the same fate as her parents"

"Death? Don't we all?" Aoshi asked

"Death by the Batosi....but do not let your mind liger of those thoughts now, sleep dear, and let us leave it till tomorrow" Hikaru left the room, leaving only Aoshi and Anju.

Anju opened her eyes slowly and covered her mouth as she lost herself in a coughing fit that seemed to last for eternity. When it ended she took in a deep breath, her breathing was still so very labored and limited "Aoshi...." She managed to get out looking to him with a soft smile

Aoshi's eyes soften as he looked at her, she was so frail, limply laying there, he was afraid she'd vanish right before his very eyes again "Anju...I'm sorry....' he whispered gently. Anju only shook her had and coughed again

"Running...in the rain....the smokey air....don't worry...blame it on the environment' Anju grinned laughing softly. Something in her life told Aoshi, everything would be just fine.


End file.
